Coming of Age Arc
by Locondra Timbernova
Summary: Sequel to Shipping Arc...Once again I state that my ability to summarize my work is...lacking. If any of my reading can sum it up for me by the end, that would be awesome!
1. Chapter 1

Coming of Age Arc

 **Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 1

Things seemed to have generally settled down as the year passed into summer, and the official countdown to Yugi's twentieth birthday began. He may have been standing on the threshold of adulthood, according to the calendar, but he was still young and fun and happy-go-lucky, no matter what sorts of mature responsibilities life was dumping on him. On his birthday, he would legally inherit half of Kame game shop. He was deeply involved in a very adult relationship with his inner soulmate. Yet, the passage of time was not robbing him of his innocence and youthful exuberance. When most people his age would have been planning to go out drinking to celebrate the coming-of-age, Yugi was talking about cake, ice cream, and picnics with his grandfather. It helped that his birthday happily fell on the same date as the full moon this year, so he and his lover made their own personal plans for how they would mark the occasion, but Yugi didn't plan on staying tied to his bed (literally) all day. Just what he would do with his friends, though, still escaped him.

Joey and Bakura were entering their final exams, and none too soon, as Joey at least was eagerly looking forward to a summer break. He intended to just work and play, while Bakura had signed on for a summer course to help him catch up on his coursework. Very near the beginning of June, Yugi finally got an email from Téa to let him know that she would be home from school on such and such a day and would make herself available to party with him on his birthday. It was a short email, but still the most she had written to him since dropping him a short congratulatory note after the tournament. It seemed that she was going to spend part of the summer volunteering with a traditional dance group in Osaka, to learn folk dancing and other cultural things that she could take with her as experience, but she would at least be in the country and eager to hang out from time to time. He emailed her back to let her know that he hadn't made plans for his birthday yet, but to keep the 20th open. He chose not to mention the phase of the moon, however.

The day was creeping up on him, but Yugi had no idea what he wanted to do with it. He would have liked something extravagant, considering the milestone, but every idea that came to him was just too small. Unfortunately, many of the old friends and acquaintances he would have liked to invite along were elsewhere in the world, but he knew he could count on his three best friends as always, along with Duke, Mai, Bakura, and naturally, his partner. The last anyone asked him about it, he said he was considering having a picnic in the park because it would be less crowded than the beach, but he still hadn't confirmed anything. Not that Yami was much help. The pharaoh didn't care where they went or what they did, so long as he was out of the Puzzle, in his own body, and had the chance to present Yugi with his own gifts privately on their own time. All he did in the intervening days was ask to take control for a short time so he could call up someone and get some help procuring Yugi's birthday present.

One night in the first half of the month, Yugi was bored enough to pick up his duel disk and hook into the wireless network, half-heartedly taking a couple of duel challenges just for something to do. Yami lurked at the back of his mind but didn't interfere, allowing Yugi to have a little fun on his own and see how easy it was for him to smack down duelists without the pharaoh guiding every move. There wasn't much of a challenge available, though, so Yugi sat backwards in his desk chair with his arms hanging over the back, poking the buttons to scroll through the listings in the off chance any recognizable names popped up. Neither Bakura nor Marik were on tonight, unfortunately. He was just about to give up and log off when the duel disk beeped to announce that someone was trying to message him. He glanced at the screen in front of his left eye and gave a start to read, "User _Kaiba1_ challenges you."

Yugi hit the button to accept the connection. "Kaiba?" he yelped into the microphone.

Kaiba sounded as smug and superior as always. "So, Yugi. I see you're finally making it a point to use that wireless connection you paid for. It's about time."

Perplexed, Yugi sat up a little, folding his arm over the back of the chair so he could keep the duel disk's buttons in reach. "This is a surprise. What are you doing messaging me out of the blue like this?"

"Does it matter?" Kaiba sniffed. "I just happened to be online and saw you on for once, and checked your record. You've hardly bothered to use your duel disk, your record doesn't even begin to hint at your abilities."

"Sorry, I get busy," Yugi said, not at all sorry. "Come to think of it, it's kind of odd for you to be on like this, isn't it?"

"What can I say? Someone had a score to settle with me, so I decided to play along for the hell of it. Needless to say," he said with obvious delight, "that score remains unsettled."

Yugi laughed a little. "Is that why it sounds like you're in a good mood?"

"Maybe." Truthfully, Kaiba had just finished dueling Shandy yet again, and beaten her for the fourth or fifth time, so it could have explained his mood. Surely, it had nothing to do with the fact that he had gotten laid again the night before – meeting Alastair at a hotel near the airport for a classic one night stand, since that was all the longer he was in town for. "Don't read anything into it, I'm just messaging you because you're there, and I'm curious as to whether you're enjoying the wireless dueling experience."

"Ahh…" Yugi shrugged. "I like it enough. It's fun. I just don't get a chance to use it a lot. And when I do, I don't always find somebody my speed to duel." He made a disgruntled face, even though Kaiba wouldn't see it. "So many newbies keep trying to challenge me, but they're so inexperienced that it isn't any fun for me."

"Yes, a pity, isn't it?" Kaiba said arrogantly. "You and I are just about the only duelists on the network strong enough to challenge each other, but I've got more important things to do than continually duel you just to up my record. There's a serious lack of world-class duelists online."

"Well, there's a few. I've dueled Marik a lot. I ran into Rebecca Hawkins once, but the time zone difference makes it really hard to duel anyone in America."

"You're not missing anything," Kaiba grunted. "They're no better than the rabble here."

"Oh well," Yugi sighed. "It's not like I get the time to duel seriously anymore. And coming up in a couple of weeks, I'm going to have even less free time. I'll be even more involved with the game shop."

"Why, what's in two weeks?"

"My birthday." Yugi began to smile to himself. "I come of age."

"Oh, that's right," Kaiba said, sounding bored. "It's about time. I came of age last fall, you're due to catch up and enter the real world as an adult."

"Says the guy dueling online with some long-distance rival," Yugi smirked at him.

Kaiba grunted unappreciatively. "I created this system, I can duel when and where I want. I just don't, because like you said, there isn't anyone strong enough to give me a challenge." He huffed a short sigh. "So, got some kind of plans for your big day? Going out to get drunk with Katsuya?"

"Nothing like that," Yugi frowned. "I don't know. I want to do something big, but I can't think of anything. Téa's going to be home from school, and Yami's going to be out of the Puzzle. I have a chance to get all my friends together and I'm totally drawing a blank."

"Have you been to my amusement park, yet?"

That caught Yugi by even more surprise than finding himself chatting with Kaiba in the first place. "What? Kaibaland? Here? Uh…no, I actually haven't been there. Just the one in America where you held the Grand Prix."

Kaiba gave another snort of derision. "No wonder you didn't think of it as an idea. Or is that too childish? I would have thought it your style, unless by now fucking your imaginary boyfriend has made you too adult to go to amusement parks."

Yugi rolled his eyes; he should have expected this. "He's not imaginary, Kaiba, and what do you care anyway? It's my birthday, I can do whatever I want. And now that you mention it, Kaibaland does sound like a good idea." He hummed thoughtfully. "I just don't know if I can afford it. Taking seven or eight people there would be expensive."

"You do happen to be talking to the president of Kaiba Corporation," Kaiba said dryly.

Yugi stared into the blinking viewscreen in disbelief. "You would…cut me a deal? Really?"

"If it means getting you to come back again someday and pay full price next time, it's an investment worth taking," Kaiba muttered, sounding bored. "The more, the merrier. How many people were you planning on inviting to your little play-date?"

Yugi tapped his finger to his lips as he thought. "Hmm…well, there's me and Yami, and Grandpa…and then…" He counted them all up and seemed surprised by the number. "I guess, nine. Unless you're inviting yourself, since it's your park," he added with a chuckle, "so that would be ten. Or eleven if Mokuba wants to come, too."

"I'll work you out a package deal, but I'm not coming to your party," Kaiba snapped. "If Mokuba wants to go he'll have to skip school, but I did promise him something if he passed his entrance exams. Don't think of it as a gift, either," he growled. "There'll be strings attached. I'll call in some favor someday to recoup the investment. But for now…yes. If you want to go to Kaibaland on your birthday, I can make you a deal."

Yugi grinned to himself, deciding to let Kaiba be as nasty as he wanted to be – it didn't cover the fact that he was about to do something uncharacteristically nice. "Well, sure, Kaiba. That sounds like fun. I haven't been there, but I did kind of want to check it out someday, if I could. I appreciate it."

Over the voice connection, he could hear some faint noise in the background on Kaiba's end, like the shuffling of papers or the click of keys. "We have party rooms that can be reserved, I'll check to see if there's one available. The package would provide your friends with reduced price tickets, and you'd get in free if you actually went on your birthday."

"Oh good, because that's the day I told everyone to set aside."

Kaiba made a thoughtful noise. "I suppose it would be logical to let your other half also have a free ticket, since he'd be getting in free with you if he was where he belonged."

"That would be so nice of you, Kaiba, thank you!" Yugi gushed, aware of Yami near him, smiling. Neither of them could believe this was happening.

Kaiba growled again. "I'm not doing it to be nice, so just relax."

Grinning, Yugi quieted, content to let Kaiba have his way. "Well, Mokuba is invited too, even if you don't want to come. We'll keep an eye on him."

"Fine." A few more obvious keyclicks, and Kaiba came back sounding rather satisfied. "There, it's all set up. Even you should be able to afford this package, I'm being extremely generous to a fault."

"You are," Yugi said, amazed, "and I'm grateful. If there's anything I can do for you in return, just let me know. I have no problems owing you a favor."

"You're damn right you owe me," Kaiba muttered. "Get something to write on, I'm going to give you a confirmation number. On the day of your party, go up to the will-call window and give them this number, and they'll have everything waiting for you. I'll have someone meet you there to make sure there are no hassles."

Yugi whirled around in his chair and stretched out to his desk to pull a pen and paper to him, scribbling down the confirmation code and labeling it so he wouldn't forget. "Awesome, thanks," he said. "Wow, what a lucky break, running into you online. This sounds like a lot of fun."

"If luck has anything to do with it, you're lucky I'm in a good mood," Kaiba mused. "For that, you can thank the rival I defeated earlier."

"Oh! That reminds me…did you ever get a rematch against that girl from the tournament?"

Expecting a growl of anger at being reminded of his failure, Yugi was surprised to hear Kaiba chuckle darkly. "Who do you think I smacked down tonight?"

"Ah…well, congratulations," Yugi smiled. "Sounds like everything is back to normal."

"Something like that. Well, that was all I wanted to know. You can go back to looking for a challenge. I have work to do."

"Don't work too hard," Yugi chided. "Thanks again, Kaiba. Later."

The connection terminated with no further pleasantries. Yugi logged himself off the network and pulled off his headset with a sigh, slumping back in his chair. A phantom vision of the pharaoh materialized beside him to share thoughts with him. "Well, that was weird," Yugi commented toward it.

"I don't understand it myself," Yami agreed, "but I'm not about to question it. If Kaiba is willing to be generous just this once, we'll let him. I don't count on it happening again."

"I know." Yugi grinned up at his partner. "What do you think? Does a day at Kaibaland sound like fun to you, too?"

"I am curious about it," the pharaoh shrugged. "The last time, we were rather busy with the Grand Prix and didn't get to look around, much."

Yugi hopped up out of his chair. "I can't wait to tell everybody else about it! First thing's first…" He deactivated his duel disk and set it on the desk before turning to rush out of his bedroom. "I gotta tell Grandpa!"

Yami faded from view as Yugi whisked out of the room to find his grandfather and tell him about the unexpected arrangements he had just made. It was good to see that his young partner was not about to give up on his pursuit of all things fun just because he was turning twenty – Yami wanted to see the amusement park just as much as Yugi. He was very amused to be along for the ride, mentally, as Yugi went squealing to his grandfather about the strange fit of generosity Kaiba had been in. The plan was set, then: the gang was going to Kaibaland.

The night before his birthday, Yugi flopped down in bed right after dinner to take an extra-long nap so that he would be ready at midnight not only for the ritual but for whatever his embodied partner might want to do upon waking. It was a wise move, because Yami intended to start his birthday off right and didn't even throw on a bathrobe the moment he stepped from the Puzzle. Catching Yugi up in his arms, he favored him with a long, deep, probing kiss that left Yugi breathless and weak. He felt more than heard his partner's sensual whisper in his ear: "Happy birthday."

Yugi moaned softly and then grinned. "That's right," he whispered back. "It's after midnight. That means it's officially my birthday."

Yami pulled him even tighter against his body, teasing him right through his thin pajamas with a grinding brush of their hips together. "Then, let me be the first to celebrate with you." He nibbled softly at Yugi's ear and neck, making him sigh in delight. "The way adults ought to."

Yugi purred his agreement. "Just not too late," he warned, feeling a shiver ripple down his body when the pharaoh's hands slid around to cup his ass and rub their bodies together. "We need a good night's sleep for tomorrow."

Yami chuckled deeply. "A lack of sleep won't stop you from running around an amusement park," he noted.

"Well, no…" Yugi smirked up at him. "But it might make Joey and Tristan say all kinds of naughty things about why we got no sleep."

"They'd be right," Yami shrugged. But he understood, and dragged Yugi into bed with him with the intention of simply giving him a taste of what would surely come later in the day, after the park and their friends had all gone away and left them alone with each other. That much, Yugi wasn't going to say no to – not at all!

The alarm pulled them out of a refreshing slumber to find themselves tangled up in each other's arms and legs, with the sheet binding them together rather poorly. Though Yugi had left the skylight open for the pleasantly cool breeze all night, they awoke as hot and sweaty as they had been when collapsing onto each other in the middle of the night and were forced to make a long shower the first order of business. Plans had long ago been made to share rides and meet up at a certain place just outside the gates of Kaibaland, since the park was clear on the other side of town from everyone and that meant Grandpa would have to break out the car. He, Yugi, and Yami were supposed to pick Bakura up on their way, and meet up with Joey, Mai, Tristan, Duke, and Téa before ten. Yami stood back out of the way while Yugi ran around the bedroom picking out clothes for him, something lightweight and casual for the weather and an old pair of sneakers that would be much easier on his feet than his boots. The pharaoh chuckled as he listened to Yugi ramble about sunscreen, lots of walking, needing water, and other concerns of spending the day outdoors at the park. Somehow, they still made it out of the house on time, hanging a sign in the window of Kame game shop that read "closed today due to family business." Yugi sat in the back seat with his partner and the cake Grandpa had picked up as they pulled up outside Bakura's flat to find him waiting by a lamppost. Solomon Muto had to smile to himself at the noisy chatter between the boys as they enthused about the party, glancing up once into the rearview mirror to see Yami sitting there quietly, a warm and content look in his elegant eyes. He never said much, regardless, but he seemed to be taking a particular pleasure in listening to Yugi and Ryo enthusiastically discussing the things they had heard about attractions at the park and the still-weird notion that Kaiba had given Yugi some kind of sweet deal to let him have his milestone birthday party there. They were pulling up and parking in the vast lot before they knew it, and joined the stream of families and young people heading towards the gates for their own days of fun. Right on cue, the crowds parted to reveal the rest of the gang standing in a knot beneath the shadow of the giant dragon statue in front of the gates. Grandpa Muto and Bakura carried the cake and presents, allowing Yugi to break from his partner's side and run pell-mell into them, pouncing on Joey and Tristan first, and then turning to clasp Téa's hands in his and bounce with her. "You made it, you made it!" he crowed. "It's so good to see you again!"

Téa beamed happily and hugged him around the shoulders. "Yugi! Happy birthday!"

"Yeah, happy birthday, man," Joey said, the others all echoing the sentiment.

"Thanks, guys!" Yugi glanced back, then, as Yami glided up to his side and put an arm around him. "I'm so excited! This should be a lot of fun!"

"Good to see you again, pharaoh," Mai said to him. "It's been a couple months."

"Oh, here, let me give you a hand with that, Mr. Muto," Tristan said behind them, lunging to take the cake.

"Yes, well," Yami said to Mai, smiling sheepishly, "Marik wanted to see me as long as he was here, last month. It's difficult to see everybody when I have only one day at a time."

Mai smiled and then winked at him, signaling him that she had done as he had asked her regarding Yugi's present. "I'm sure you'll make up for it today," she added.

"Pharaoh…" Téa stepped up to him, giving him a slightly awed look. Of all the gang, she had seen him the least – the others had gotten used to this, but she had not. "I, uh…hi."

"Hello, Téa," he smiled. "Yugi tells me you're doing well."

"Come on, guys!" Yugi interrupted, grabbing Yami's hand and towing him away so the others would follow, since they all wanted to talk to him. "Let's go get our tickets and get this day started!"

He looked around and located the will-call window at the far end of the gate, heading straight there while digging the slip of paper with the confirmation number out of his pocket. Behind him, and out of his sight, several of the others surreptitiously passed Grandpa Muto some money, as they had secretly decided of their own accord to pay their own way into the park and relieve him of some of the burden of throwing the party. After all, as long as Kaiba had booked them discount tickets, they could swing it. They came up and stood behind Yugi in a cluster to wait while he got in the blissfully short line and then stepped up to the counter with his confirmation number. "Yes, I, uh…have a special package waiting," he said to the girl behind the window. "A party package…this is the number."

"Very well, sir…" The girl looked up his number on her computer, her eyebrow raising only slightly at whatever it revealed before writing something down on a clipboard and turning it to Yugi. "Just sign here at the bottom, I'll get you your tickets."

"Okay…" Yugi signed on the blank line, and then grinned as she slid a packet of tickets held together with a rubber band to him. They were just as Kaiba had promised – actual full-day unlimited passes to the amusement park, with the holographic sticker on them for verification. "Wow, cool," he couldn't help but gasp.

The girl in the window tore a copy of the waiver he had signed off and handed it over as well, followed by a rubber-banded set of plastic wristbands. "When you go through the gate, they'll give you wristbands for the tickets," she explained, "but you'll need this second one to have access to the party room that has been set aside for you. Lunch will be served at 1 pm, it's all in the contract you signed there."

"Lunch?" Yugi wondered. He didn't remember that being part of the deal. "O-okay…well, how much do I owe, then?"

She told him, and his eyes widened even more. That was no discount, that was a steal! He turned to find Grandpa Muto coming up beside him with the money, and that was that – they were in. Yugi passed the tickets and wristbands around, telling everyone what the girl at the counter had told him. "Dude, we're gettin' lunch out of this, too?" Joey exclaimed. "What the hell did you do to Kaiba to get this kind of deal?"

"I don't know!" Yugi laughed. "But I'm not going to turn it down! All right, does everybody have a ticket and a wristband? Good! Let's go in, then."

Being as the park had just barely opened, there was a bit of a line waiting at the gates to have tickets turned into wristbands that would allow patrons unlimited access to the rides and attractions at the theme park, but it wasn't terrible. Yugi and his party stood around chattering brightly about what they wanted to see the most, deciding that they should go find the party room first and put down the cake and the presents everyone had brought before actually hitting any rides. It was supposed to be a beautiful day, hot and summery, so they were already thinking about the water rides and ice cream vendors. Mai flashed her engagement ring for Téa to see for the first time, eliciting yet another round of questions on whether they had set a date yet. Yami stood among them holding Yugi's hand firmly, their fingers entwined, as he listened and chuckled with Duke over something. It was joy enough for him to see Yugi so happy, his violet eyes sparkling in the morning sun and hair ruffling just a little in the wind. So occupied, no one paid attention to the girl at the will-call window picking up the phone inside her booth; the confirmation number had been flagged for her to call someone when it was picked up. By the time the gang got to the head of the line and entered the park, pausing to snap their double wristbands on, the person she had contacted was already there waiting to meet them. Yugi turned to lead the way but stopped with a cry of surprise. "Mokuba!"

Mokuba stood in the way with his hands clasped behind his back and an official Kaibaland pass around his neck with his card locket, grinning. Those who had seen him back in December at the regional tournament were surprised to see him yet again looking like he was growing too fast, his thin, gangly limbs outpacing the length of his sleeves, his long, bushy hair pulled back into a ponytail. Of course, he was just shy of fifteen now, so it was only natural that he'd shoot up like his brother sooner or later. "Hey guys!" he called out to them. "Welcome to Kaibaland! Happy birthday, Yugi!"

"Thanks," Yugi laughed. "So, let me guess – you're our tour guide today."

"Yep." Mokuba shrugged aloofly. "My brother said you offered to invite me to your party, so hey, it saves him having to send some other flunky out here to show you around. You got everything?"

"I think so." Yugi held out his arm and looked at his wristbands, one purple, one blue. "One for the rides and one for the party room, right?"

"That's right." Mokuba turned and gestured to the pack of taller, older kids. "Come on, I'll show you where that is first, then you can go out and see the park. Maybe if you're good, I'll sneak you to the head of the line on some of the best rides."

"Oo! Count me in," Joey said, racing up and slinging an arm around Mokuba. "I always did like you better than your older brother."

"What makes you think I was talking about _you_?" Mokuba snorted. "Yugi's the VIP, it's _his_ birthday."

Like many theme parks, Kaibaland was set up with several different thematic areas surrounding a central attraction, and some of the best private rooms and picnic halls were located in that central area. Mokuba brought them to a big pavilion with several separate party patios on two levels, and led the way upstairs to a balcony patio that overlooked the main promenade which was already filling up with people. A sign on the door marked it as belonging to the "Muto birthday party," and Yugi pushed his way through to find a nice, sheltered room in the back where the catered lunch would be set out later, open on one side to a big deck with several round tables, each hiding in the shade of a giant umbrella to keep the sun off. The place had even been decorated with a few balloons and some exclusive Kaibaland-brand drink cups and napkins. Yugi couldn't stop laughing at how overblown and tremendous it all seemed, and his friends lauded him enthusiastically for picking a great place to have a party. Joey and Téa bellied up to the railing with him to look over and see all the people passing by below. "This is so cool, Yugi," Téa congratulated him. "I can't believe you're getting all this…from Kaiba!"

"I know," he said with a grin. "I'm going to owe him something, for going to the trouble. I bet a package deal like this costs twice what we paid for it."

"Hey, perfect." Tristan appeared on Téa's other side. "We can throw jellybeans at people from up here."

"And get kicked out," Téa warned him.

"Aw, would I do that?"

"Yes you would – you've done it before."

"That was Joey's fault."

"Hey! It was not!"

Yugi glanced to either side of him and smiled wistfully. His three best friends from school, reunited at last on his special day. It was a sight to see, since life was taking them all in such divergent directions now that they were all reaching adulthood one at a time. But before he could say anything sappy, Yami snuck up behind him and slid a hand onto his back, gently reminding of his presence. After all, he belonged with them, too. Yugi glanced up and grinned as his partner came to his side, looking over the railing like the others. "What are you all looking at?"

"Nothing in particular," Joey answered. "Checkin' out the view. This is really sweet, though. Hey, Mokuba." He turned and nodded toward the younger Kaiba. "Tell your big bro thanks, would ya?"

"Sure thing," Mokuba said.

Grandpa put the cake inside the shelter for now, and the miscellaneous packages and bags his friends had brought for Yugi would be safe up there as well, so they could go have some fun for a while. Téa and Mai wisely donned sunglasses and looked askance at the boys for forgetting such a prudent precaution while they crowded around one of the tables, where Yugi had laid out a map of the park. Mokuba hung at his side, pointing things out to them that might be of interest. Nobody cared much for the theatrical shows, they all wanted to go on the roller coasters – except Grandpa. "Ah, there was a time I wouldn't have batted an eye at those monsters," he said wistfully, patting his chest. "But these days I don't think I should chance it. I'll go on the water rides with you, though."

"Yeah, you should be careful," Mokuba offered. "Some of the coasters have warnings about people with heart conditions. They're pretty fast."

"Then that's where I'm going!" Joey enthused. "You can keep your cutesy shows with hack actors dressed up as Duel Monsters. That's for the kiddies."

"Wouldn't that be funny?" Yugi turned to Yami. "If we see a guy walking around dressed up as the Dark Magician, we should get our picture taken with him."

Yami gave him an exasperated look. "I don't know," he said dubiously. "Something about that seems odd, to me."

"And the dueling arenas are over here," Mokuba pointed out to finish his verbal tour of the map. "I'm pretty sure all you guys brought your decks. You can actually use them in these arenas."

"Awesome," Yugi laughed. "Well, lead the way, Mokuba! You're the one who helped design this park. Show us the best rides!"

They headed downstairs in a big pack and started off down the paved promenade, looking around in wonder. Yugi and Yami walked hand in hand beside Mokuba, keeping their affections quiet except for that. The pharaoh was distracted by all the colors and sights and sounds, and needed Yugi's hand in his to keep him from wandering off into oncoming traffic. Yugi turned to Mokuba with a curious look. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think to introduce you to Yami all over again. I know you saw him that one time, but…"

"Nah, it's okay," Mokuba assured with a wave. "Seto warned me about it last night. Said I might see him again. I thought he was crazy, but it looks like he was right." He glanced past Yugi to Yami, who had his head turned in the opposite direction to stare at something outrageous. "That really is him, huh? How often does he get to be like this?"

"One day a month," Yugi explained. "For twenty-four hours, that's it."

"Weird." Mokuba shot him a grin. "And you guys are like, dating or something?"

"Yeah," Yugi laughed. "I suppose your brother warned you about that, too."

"No, he told me about you being…uh, gay…a while ago. I knew that part." He raised an eyebrow. "I just didn't know it was with the pharaoh."

Yugi blinked at him. So, Kaiba had chosen to out him, huh? He didn't mind Mokuba knowing, it made all of this much easier. "Well, I don't really go around bragging about it," he said modestly. "Not a lot of people would understand. At least my friends are all good about it."

"It's cool," Mokuba said. "I don't care. I mean…it really doesn't change who you are, does it?" He shrugged. "You're still the same champion duelist my brother is trying his hardest to beat, right? Having a boyfriend doesn't make you all of a sudden some kind of alien."

Yugi smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear that, Mokuba. Thanks."

"Well, you know. It's like us. My brother is a kind of celebrity, but he's always been real careful about letting people know anything about our personal lives." Mokuba shrugged again, choosing his words so as not to accidentally let his own brother's secret slip. "Ever since Seto took over KaibaCorp, and everybody wanted an interview with 'the world's youngest CEO,' he's done his best to keep private things private. I'd guess you want it to be that way, too. It's nobody's business who you like."

Yugi could think of a few private things Kaiba would have wanted to keep private. He glanced back behind them at Tristan and Duke, who were being extremely well-behaved today. They finally had their opportunity to tell Téa about their relationship, but they were looking for a tactful moment and so far, one hadn't sprung up. Everything had been too much of a whirlwind of activity so far. "I know the rest of the world isn't so open-minded," Yugi sighed, "but that's okay. As long as we're not bothering anyone."

"Nope, not bothering me." Yet, Mokuba glanced aside at him, taking a moment to study the way he and Yami were holding hands. Now that he was actually seeing it for himself, and not merely hearing rumors about it, he might have been bothered, but it didn't really seem all that odd. Not to mention, his brother's lecture had gotten through to him in a big way. "All right, here's where all the _big_ roller coasters are," he said, changing the subject as they entered another section of the park through a big archway. "The lines are gonna get longer later in the day, so if you want to ride these, you'd better do it now. But the Dragonrider is the most popular one, that line'll be a mile long, so…" He winked at Yugi. "If you want, I can get you to the head of the line on that one."

The Dragonrider was the park's biggest roller coaster, boasting the highest drop of any amusement park ride in the country, a "dragon's tail corkscrew," and naturally, the sleek silver and blue paint job of a Blue Eyes White Dragon. No wonder there was already such a long line at it. Being as Mokuba could flash his credentials anytime, the gang decided to split up and head to some of the other coasters first, and anyone who wanted a crack at the Dragonrider would meet back in an hour to take advantage of VIP perks. For the rest of the morning they were scattered all over the park, running into each other at various times and roaming in smaller packs, but each going the way they wanted to see the attractions that appealed to them the most. Yugi had to keep one hand firmly on the chain of the Millennium Puzzle going through the inverted turns on the roller coasters, but it was a very small price to pay for fun. The first coaster left Yami terrified, but he worked his courage back up for the Dragonrider and after that, decided he kind of liked the thrill. Mai didn't go on any, she claimed they made her sick, so she walked around with anyone else not in line for the rides. Téa stayed with her while some of the boys went with Grandpa on the traditional log ride through the water, because she didn't feel right getting her tank top and shorts wet with all of them around. Yet, that meant she got volunteered to hold all of their decks while they went on the ride, so their cards wouldn't get wet. Whatever their choice of entertainment, the gang had a blast, and came back together from all corners of the park for the promised food at one, flashing their bracelets at the KaibaCorp security guy keeping an eye on Mokuba's comings and goings and storming up the stairs to the patio. A huge catered spread had been laid out in their absence, and the cake set up artfully at the end of the table for them to cut and enjoy when they were finished with lunch. It was almost impossible to believe that this was all included in the package, or that they could thank Kaiba for such extraordinary generosity. Joey still swore there had to be some kind of string attached, but so far, there was no sign of any. Mokuba beamed cheerily at Yugi. "Just think of it as the Kaiba brothers' birthday present to you."

"I guess so," Yugi smiled. "Thanks a lot. All right, gang…let's eat!"

Those magic words sent Joey and Tristan diving into the buffet, leaving the rest to follow at their own risk. Laughing, chattering, the group of friends filled up their tall Kaibaland cups with soda or lemonade and clustered around the largest of the tables, jockeying for position around the guest of honor. Yugi just wanted Yami on one side of him, where the rest chose to sit was up to them. The sun was high overhead now and peeped through the fringes of the umbrella shading them, but there was enough of a light breeze to make it simply perfect. They were just sitting down on the patio and doublechecking that everyone had napkins or utensils before someone ran back over to the buffet to get more when heavy footsteps on the stairs arrested their attention. To their surprise, Seto Kaiba himself stepped out onto the patio, squinting in the sunshine. He looked to have just come straight from the office, as he was wearing a suit for once and looking very businesslike. Mokuba piped up first. "Hey, big brother! You made it!"

Kaiba sent an aloof look around the circle of friends gathered at the table, not quite acknowledging his younger brother's greeting. Yugi got up and went to him. "Kaiba! I thought you didn't want to come?"

Kaiba eyed him warily. "I just wanted to make sure everything was in place. Did you have any trouble at will-call this morning?"

"No, everything was arranged perfectly," Yugi replied. "Thank you _so_ much, Kaiba. This is great. We're having a great time, and the food just makes it perfect. I didn't know that was part of the deal, so thanks."

A cool half-smile flitted briefly across Seto's lips. "Not many people realize that Kaibaland is set up to offer all kinds of special packages, it's not just for little kids. We have a first class catering service, there are even arrangements available for weddings." He glanced past Yugi, settling not on Joey but on Mai. "Which would probably suit you geeks just fine."

"Have my wedding here? Thanks, but no thanks," Mai laughed. "I love Duel Monsters, but not that much."

"Well, as long as you came all the way from the office to check up on us, why don't you stay for lunch?" Yugi cheerfully offered. "After all, you provided it."

"I suppose." Kaiba glanced around the group one more time before turning smoothly and ducking under the shelter to go fill a plate. Yugi returned to his seat between Yami and Joey, while across the table, some of the others tried to scoot aside and make room for one more. Yet, naturally, when he joined them, Kaiba decided to sit at the next table over, where the umbrella was providing plenty of shade and there was no one to rub elbows with.

The others just went about their lunch as if Kaiba wasn't there, leaving him to his solitude as he seemed to prefer. He looked as serious and dark as ever, but he had consented to joining his rival's party for this short span of time of his own will. Yugi gazed across at him curiously, but he was too far away to talk to. The others were noisy and enthusiastic enough to make up for it, chattering about what they had done, what more they wanted to do, and teasing each other over who was too scared to try which ride. At least the Duel Monsters theme park had enough big, scary rides for young adults to enjoy, it wasn't all soft, safe, family-oriented fare. Before too long Joey and Tristan were jumping up for seconds and thirds, and there was so much food still provided for them that the others couldn't resist getting more. Téa was just bringing up the idea of finding one of those silly little photo booths and getting some pictures of her friends when Yami politely excused himself, standing up to go and fetch some more food. While he was alone under the shelter, he sensed another's approach and glanced over his shoulder to find the tall shadow of Kaiba lurking up behind him. He wore a grouchy look, but just averted his eyes and allowed the pharaoh to go in front of him without saying a word. Yami smiled faintly to himself as he reached to spoon some fresh fruit onto his plate. "I must say, Kaiba," he murmured, "this is quite a pleasant surprise. You have our thanks."

Kaiba didn't look at him as he stepped up alongside and picked idly over the selection. "Yeah, well," he said heavily, "it's just part of the package."

"But you didn't have to give Yugi the kind of deal you did." The pharaoh turned and stood there for a moment gazing across the patio to where his friends sat, a boisterous gaggle of youth, but specifically to Yugi, and the smile on his face like sunshine. A melancholy look passed briefly through Yami's eyes. "I know it doesn't seem like it," he said quietly, "but Yugi has had a rough year so far, since the tournament. You wouldn't know it, seeing the smile on his face, but he's watched his friends go through so much pain in the first part of the year, physical and emotional. Senseless violence, suicide attempts, family problems. We ourselves were attacked one night, a few months ago, because of who we are. And before the tournament, things were even worse." He sighed worriedly, aware that behind him, Kaiba was listening keenly no matter how much he pretended not to. "He puts on a brave face, because he doesn't want his friends to know when he's afraid or upset, he wants to be strong for them. Only I know of the secret tears he sheds at night when there's no one around except me to see." He glanced back to see Kaiba standing there, still as a statue, holding his plate and just staring at him as he spoke. "Such a wonderful, over-the-top party like this has made him so happy. I've not had the pleasure of seeing him so happy, so carefree, in a few months. I appreciate everything you did to help make it happen, Kaiba."

An uncomfortable look flickered across Kaiba's face, but he said nothing. He couldn't say anything, he literally did not know how to respond to that. He just stood for a moment longer staring at the pharaoh's back, and the way he gazed across to Yugi and his friends looking like there really wasn't anything else to care about besides good food and a party. At last, Yami snapped himself out of his thoughts with a shake of his head and smiled faintly over his shoulder at Seto. "I know you don't regard us as your friends, but what you did for us today is something a friend would do, and for that, I thank you. You've made this Yugi's best birthday ever. If there is any way I or Yugi can repay you, say so." Straightening up, he went back out into the sunshine and over to the table, slipping back into his spot beside Yugi, who welcomed him with a little hug and a giggle of delight over the strawberry being held out to him in the pharaoh's nimble fingers.

Kaiba stood as though paralyzed by kindness. He had no way to respond to Yami's heartfelt gratitude, but it astonished him how the pharaoh's quiet calm and honesty made him feel. It felt good to be appreciated, even if he did have ulterior motives for making the extravagant deal. And Yugi really did look happy, in that way that left no one around him unaffected by the contagious joy. Kaiba savored it for a moment before similarly shrugging off his deeper thoughts and returning to his seat. He had taken an extra-long lunch break to come out to the park, but he needed to finish eating and get back soon. Still, as he sat and made his way through the second helping, he leaned an elbow on the table and listened casually to the conversation going on next to him.

"Okay, you need to take a geography lesson," Téa was saying to Joey. "New York is a very long way from Florida. So no, I haven't been to Disneyworld."

"I know it's a long way," Joey argued, "I just thought maybe that ritzy roommate of yours might have taken you down there on spring break or something."

Téa shook her head. "I didn't go anywhere on spring break. I had rehearsals." She sighed tiredly. "No spring break and no Golden Week for me, I didn't get to have any fun."

"Well, at least you're home now," Yugi offered, "and can have a bit of a break before you go to Osaka."

"Hey, it's not like the rest of us did anything exciting on break either," Joey sniffed. "I almost forgot we had one."

"Speak for yourself, Joey," Bakura said with a little smile. "I had a nice break. Not that I left the city, but…"

"Well, you had good reason," Yugi teased. "How long do you have until your summer class starts?"

"Not long, I'm afraid. And I never really had a break from work, the research projects are ongoing and don't end when the semester is over." Ryo shrugged stiffly. "Those of us in the work-study program who live here and don't leave after term are free to continue helping out."

"Yeah, meaning you get to keep working when everybody else skips town," Joey snorted. "Man, that's gotta suck."

"Hey, you kids in school have got it easy," Duke retorted. "Try being out in the real world, working for a living, like me and Tristan and Yugi and Mai." He cast a bored look over his shoulder. "…and Kaiba."

"You think writing papers and studying for exams is easy?" Joey cried. "You're the ones who have it easy! You don't have to worry about things like due dates and grades."

"No, we just have to worry about the bottom line, every single day," Duke smirked.

"Well, I don't know that it's all that hard," Yugi mused, trying to be diplomatic. "Although we are getting into a kind of slow time of year."

"Maybe it just looks that way because of the added competition," Kaiba interrupted, sounding quietly smug.

Joey shot him a dirty look, but Yugi just shrugged. "No, it's like this every year. Right before summer term ends – after that, the high school kids will be out of school and it'll be back to normal. I'm not worried."

"Enjoy your freedom while you have it," Duke said to Joey, as if to conclude the round with a victory in the favor of working stiffs. "Because once you graduate, there is no such thing as break. It's all downhill from there, baby."

Tristan gave him an idle look. "Judging by the lifestyle you lead, I'd hardly call it downhill."

Everyone laughed and conceded that nobody had it easy, except maybe Mokuba. Yugi looked around, noted that everyone was just sitting in front of an empty plate and sipping casually at their drinks. "Hey, I think it's a good time for cake," he decided. "Everybody ready?"

They all seemed amenable to the idea, except for one. Kaiba pushed himself to his feet and straightened his suit jacket. "Sorry, but I have to get back to the office," he said curtly. "I've taken a long enough lunch break. I just wanted to make sure the park didn't screw up my orders."

Yugi sat up. "Well, thanks for dropping by anyway. And thanks for setting this all up."

Kaiba nodded and just glanced at Mokuba as if to telepathically order him to behave before turning and heading for the stairs. The dark-suited henchman who had been lurking near the door followed him out. After an appropriately long-enough pause to be sure he had left, Joey grumbled, "That's Kaiba for ya. Always gotta show up, crash the party, steal the spotlight, and then leave just when things are about to be fun."

"What's with that suit?" Duke exclaimed. "I thought the pimp look was out."

"He could have been nicer," Mai added. "Bringing up business at a birthday party. How tacky."

"Guys!" Yugi broke in. "Would you cut it out?"

"Oh, come on, Yug," Joey sighed. "He brings it on himself. Showing up here out of the blue like that? He just wanted to take all the credit for all the awesomeness. Give himself a nice pat on the back."

"Do you really expect anything less from Kaiba?" Duke shrugged. "Come on, we're all used to this by now. He's gonna show up and throw his weight around anytime he can, just because it's _his_ park and _his_ idea."

"It's that attitude I can't stand," Tristan agreed.

Yugi glowered at them all, quivering in his seat with his hands clenched into fists. At last, he cried, "Just shut up and be nice for once, can't you?" and sprang to his feet. As the others looked on in shock, he dashed across the patio and down the stairs, trying to catch Kaiba before he could leave. Yami stared after him, and then quietly got up and followed him without a word to the others.

The walkways of the park were wide enough to drive vehicles through, and being as the picnic patios were at the center of the park, it wasn't unreasonable that Kaiba should have had his driver bring him directly there and park in the small lot just beside the building. He was almost to the car when he heard someone call his name, and glanced back to see Yugi running towards him. Curious, he paused with a hand on the door of the car while Yugi jogged to a stop a few paces away. "Kaiba," he said, taking a breath to calm himself. "Just a minute."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "What do you want now?"

"Nothing, just…" Yugi made a puzzled face and blurted out, "Why? Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?"

The question made Kaiba visibly flinch. He looked away, but didn't move to open the car door just yet. "Does it matter?" he muttered over his shoulder.

Yugi stood facing him squarely, arms at his sides, while the pharaoh silently crept up behind him, listening. "It's just…you've been so nice to me today and I wanted to thank you…but I wish I knew the reason. I'm sure there's something you want out of me. But either way…I just want to know."

Kaiba said nothing for a long moment, only pulling the car door open. At last, he turned back slightly and gave Yugi a sullen look. "Maybe it isn't that I want something out of you…but that I owe you and felt it was time to pay it back."

Yugi blinked in confusion. "What do you owe me? I don't understand."

Seto gestured to his driver to go get in the car. He turned away from Yugi again before answering. "I owe you for some good advice given on the way back from Hong Kong. That's all. This is a small price to pay for settling that debt." With that, he slid into the car and shut the door.

Yugi remained there for a moment, staring in confusion, even as he felt his lover's hand come to rest on his shoulder. The car started up and pulled away, slowly negotiating the broad causeway that led to the border of the park and the streets beyond. Once it had gone, Yugi stirred and glanced to find Yami beside him. "What do you suppose that means?" he wondered.

"I couldn't say," the pharaoh murmured. "But it was the answer to your question."

"I still don't get it," Yugi complained. "But if that's all he's going to say…fine."

"Come. Let's go back upstairs," Yami implored, guiding him gently with the hand on his shoulder. "Your friends are probably wondering why you ran out like that."

Yugi sighed, but submitted to the gentle guidance. "I just couldn't take it this time. I'm used to them badmouthing Kaiba, and he usually deserves it, but…he didn't do anything. And I saw Mokuba just sitting there, not saying anything to defend his brother, and…"

"You were right," Yami assured him. "Now, let's go make sure everyone else knows that."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 2

Yugi and Yami emerged on the sun-drenched patio to find the group talking quietly among themselves, except for Mokuba, who sat staring down at his lap. They all glanced in Yugi's direction when he appeared, and some looked rather relieved to find that he didn't look upset. Yugi closed his eyes and sighed before taking Yami's arm and allowing himself to be dragged back to the table. "I'm sorry I snapped at you guys," he murmured. "I didn't mean to get upset."

"Nah, it's okay, Yug," Joey said heavily. "I think we get it."

"It's just…Kaiba's been so nice to me today, he didn't deserve to have you guys making fun of him behind his back," Yugi complained. "He didn't do anything to me. I'm sorry, Mokuba," he added directly to the younger Kaiba. "That wasn't nice of us."

Everyone else cringed in their seats and looked suitably chastened. "Sorry, Mokuba," Duke added.

"Yeah, that was our bad," Joey agreed.

"It's okay," Mokuba shrugged, picking his head up again. "He does usually bring it on himself. No hard feelings."

"So can we have cake now, and be friends again?" Yugi wondered of all of them.

"Bring on the cake!" Tristan exclaimed.

Chuckling, Grandpa got up and brought the cake over from where it had been nicely displayed with the catered lunch. Mai followed to get plates and forks, and Joey went along to get another plate full of food. Everyone else cleared space in the middle of the table so they could drool over the sweet confection before it could be gutted and served. "So what kind of cake did you get?" Téa asked Yugi.

Yugi swiped a finger-full of creamy frosting and popped it in his mouth before replying, "Strawberry!"

Joey groaned and rolled his eyes. "What is it with you and strawberries?"

Yugi made a pouty face at him. "It's my favorite flavor," he explained, leaving unsaid that it had special meaning to him and Yami. The hand on his back caressing dangerously close to his ass was proof that the secret had not gone unnoticed.

"Well, you know," Duke said wisely, "strawberries are supposed to be an aphrodisiac."

Tristan looked at him. "They are not. You're making that up."

"I am not! I totally read it somewhere!"

"I've read that too," Bakura put in. "Though, technically speaking, anything is an aphrodisiac so long as you think it is. It's a placebo effect."

"Guys, maybe we shouldn't be talking about aphrodisiacs in front of children?" Mai scolded.

Mokuba frowned. "What's an aphrodisiac?"

The entire table erupted with laughter. "Ask your brother," Joey dared, and left it at that.

Grandpa Muto encouraged everyone to go and get another drink, first, so they could toast Yugi for his birthday, and then he set about cutting and serving the cake. Right at that moment, a cell phone rang among them. Everyone started and looked at each other as if to say "It's not my phone!" until Bakura snatched his out of his pocket and answered. Hearing the voice on the other end made him sit up sharply with a smile. "Marik!"

"It's Marik?" Yugi wondered across the table. "What's he doing calling you now?"

Ryo grinned and handed out the phone. "He wants to say happy birthday to you."

Yugi's eyes lit up as he took the phone and immediately heard Marik's pleasant voice. "Hi, Yugi. Happy birthday."

"Thanks, Marik!" Yugi cried, grinning. "You're just in time! We're having cake."

"Ah, I knew it." Marik chuckled. "I threatened Ryo that I was going to call sometime around lunch, I figured he'd be able to pass along the message. Excellent, that worked out just the way I hoped."

Yugi laughed back. "Well, thanks for calling. That's really nice of you."

"So are you having a fun birthday so far?"

"Yeah! We're at Kaibaland – we've been on a bunch of roller coasters, now we're eating and stuff, and then I think we're going to walk around and see some sights or duel before we hit any more roller coasters."

"Oh, I wish I could be there with you," Marik sighed. "It sounds like fun. Have a piece of cake for me."

"We will." Yugi grinned. "So what time is it over there, anyway?"

"Early," Marik groaned. "Like…seven in the morning."

"Really?" Yugi's eyes widened. "You got up that early just to call me?"

"Well, actually," Marik laughed, "I've been getting up this early for the past couple of weeks. It's the time of year when a lot of archeological tours need to go out before the sun gets too hot, meaning very early in the morning. So, it's no big deal." His voice gentled, with a note of a smile in it. "I wish I could have done more for your big day, I hope just getting a call is special enough."

"Aw, we wish you were here with us, too," Yugi said kindly. "That would have been so much fun to have you along. But I understand. This is really nice of you, thanks, Marik." He giggled. "You want to talk to Ryo again?"

"Yeah, sure. Happy birthday."

Yugi handed the phone back to its owner, and Bakura got up and turned his back to the group in order to hide the rising blush as he finished the call with a promise to talk more later. He was next to Duke, who smiled knowingly as he overheard a quiet, "I love you," passed between them before Ryo finally hung up and returned to the group, clearing his throat and trying to squash down the giddy thoughts that left his cheeks reddened.

The cake was big enough that everyone got a big wedge with lots of frosting and a strawberry on top, and several decided after the first bite to toast Yugi for his birthday again, in thanks. He giggled and blushed and just kept nibbling away at his cake, filled to the tips of his toes with delight and joy. He had his friends around him, his lover beside him, strawberry cake in his mouth, and a gorgeous, summery day shining down on him. The fact that he had just turned twenty and inherited half a game shop was actually furthest from his mind in that moment. The pleasant atmosphere made it too easy for everyone to relax and forget that they had secrets worth guarding. Having temporarily forgotten that they were supposed to be looking for a tactful moment to share their news with Téa, and until then, keeping their affections quiet, Duke swiped a finger through the frosting on the edge of his plate and sent it diving towards his partner. "You want my frosting?" he challenged.

Tristan ducked out of the way of the finger before it could get frosting all over his face. "Hey! Watch it! What, you don't want your frosting?"

"It's too sweet. Here – have some!" He tried again, nearly succeeding in nicking Tristan's nose.

Tristan grabbed his wrist and held him off, grinning daringly at the frosting-coated finger in his line of sight. "Stop it!" he laughed.

"No food fights," Grandpa Muto warned from across the table.

"Come on…" Duke tried to wrestle his arm away, very nearly poking himself in the eye with his own finger. Tristan struggled with him, and then clamped down on his arm and very naughtily licked the frosting from his finger. Duke's green eyes widened. "Well! I guess that's one way of doing it."

"Maybe those strawberries really are an aphrodisiac," Tristan said under his breath with a grin.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Both Duke and Tristan turned, startled, at the sharp, accusing tone coming from beside them. Téa was staring at them, confused and a little worried. Yet, they couldn't let go of each other, or stammer out an excuse, until Duke muttered, "Oh shit."

Tristan let go of his arm and nudged him instead, flicking a bit of frosting off his cheek. "Dammit, we have the worst sense of tact. I guess there's no hiding anymore."

"You better tell her, guys," Joey said.

"It's about time," Mai agreed with a frown.

Téa did not glance around at the other comments, but she heard them, and frowned even more. "What are they talking about? What have you been hiding from me?"

"It's not that we wanted to hide," Tristan hastily explained, turning to her as she was sitting directly beside him. "It's just…well, we wanted to tell you in person, and we've been trying to find the chance all day but it just hasn't been right." He gave her the most pathetic, hopeless look he could muster. "Duke and I are seeing each other. Uh…we live together, too."

"We were going to tell you earlier today," Duke immediately added, "but the right moment never came. It's not like we could have said it right away when we met up this morning. I mean, if we had said, 'Hi Téa, good to see you, ready to go on some roller coasters, oh by the way Tristan and I are seeing each other' at the gate, you would have killed us."

Téa sat there blinking unsteadily in surprise for a long while, saying nothing. Tristan lowered his head contritely and gave her his best puppy-dog eyes. "I'm really sorry we waited, Téa," he said softly. "I just wanted you to hear it straight from me."

"Téa?" Yugi wondered.

Blinking herself alert, Téa suddenly rounded on Yugi and rose up out of her seat, yelling, "This is all your fault!"

"What?" Yugi fell back, aghast. "My fault?"

"All of a sudden, everyone else who hangs out with you is turning gay!" she cried. "I heard Bakura on the phone before, there's something going on between him and Marik too, isn't there? And now this? It's your fault, it has to be! You're spreading this sickness around all of our friends! It's disgusting!" Yugi stared, mouth open. Téa then switched to focusing on Tristan. "What's wrong with you? You're having sex with Duke? When did that happen? You just decided you were gay, now? Is everyone at this table gay?"

"Excuse me?" Joey tried to interrupt.

"It's like everybody except Joey and Mokuba has gone gay on me," Téa seethed. "I don't know any of you anymore! This is all your fault, Yugi!" She spun to face him again, shoving back her chair with her knees. "If it wasn't for you, none of this would have happened! You're sick! You're making everyone else gay, even the pharaoh!"

Yami rose suddenly in front of her, shielding Yugi from her. "Téa!" he said angrily. "That is _not_ how things are."

"I can't be around you anymore!" she accused, turning away from the table. "I can't be in the middle of this…this gay parade. Get away from me! Leave me alone!" With that, she raced across the patio to the stairs and stormed down them, shoving through the gate. A moment later, they all heard the slam of a door in the vicinity of the restrooms at the bottom of the stairs.

Everyone sat motionless for a second, and then Yugi abruptly broke the silence by bursting into tears. Yami dropped into his seat beside him and held out his arms, and Yugi collapsed into them, sobbing into his shoulder. The rest of their friends sat staring at the table or their half-eaten cake, stunned and angry. Even Mokuba flushed red with embarrassment, though he had his own reasons why. After a long silence punctuated by Yugi's ragged sobs, Duke huffed an angry sigh. "Yugi…just forget about it," he tried to encourage. "It's all right, just forget her. You don't have to put up with that kind of treatment."

"We can't just forget her," Joey snapped. "Téa is our friend, we can't just write her off."

Duke's eyes burned even more angrily. "You call that a friend? Look, I know I'm not as close to her as you guys are, but just because she's your old pal doesn't give her the right to say things like that. I mean, for crying out loud – she made Yugi cry! On his birthday!" He huffed and got up, going to lean on the railing of the patio rather than face the others. After a moment Tristan got up and joined him, rubbing a hand over his back to try to calm him down.

Yami remained quiet, holding Yugi tightly in his arms, no longer afraid to show his true affections in front of the others. Yugi clung to him, trembling, sobbing, his hands clenched into fists on his partner's t-shirt. On his other side, even Joey leaned over to rub his back consolingly, though his presence wasn't nearly the comfort that Yami could be. "It's okay, Yug," Joey gently implored. "C'mon, she didn't mean it."

"Of course she meant it," Yugi whimpered, lifting his head just enough from Yami's shoulder to say it. "She hates me. I know she does. That's why she didn't talk to me all year long. She hates that I love Yami and now…now…" He lost his train of thought and broke down into fresh sobs, pressing his face into Yami's neck to try to stifle them.

Tristan heard that and winced, swallowing a rush of pain in his throat. He turned to Duke, leaning closer to him to whisper, "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah," Duke said morosely. "I'm just mad. Not because she insulted me, but because she insulted you and Yugi…people she's supposed to care about." He lifted his head and gave Tristan a hard look. "What about you?"

"I'm a little mad," Tristan admitted, "but mostly…just upset. That did hurt, a lot."

"She's wrong, you know." Duke folded his arms on the railing and peered absently over it. "This isn't a sickness. This isn't anybody's fault."

"I know. I know she's wrong," Tristan patiently said, "but I'm still worried that we didn't help matters by springing it on her like this."

Duke shook his head. "No, this was coming. Sooner or later." He glanced over his shoulder at Yugi, still crying, and the others trying to comfort him and looking among themselves uncomfortably. Even Bakura sat alone with his hands in his lap and tears in his eyes. "Yugi's right. She's been mad at him since Christmas. This has been building a long time, it just finally came out at the totally wrong time." Sighing, he pushed himself up and turned back toward the table. "Yug, man, I'm sorry. I'm sorry we set her off in front of everybody."

Yugi shook his head against Yami's shoulder. "It's not your fault," he shuddered. "I just…I don't understand. I didn't know she hated me that much. How could she say that?"

"Yugi…" Grandpa Muto leaned over from where he sat, speaking in his most fatherly tone. "Téa doesn't hate you. She's just scared." He sighed quietly. "She doesn't understand that her friends are changing, because she hasn't been here to be with you though it, and that scares her. And people often react with anger to cover their fear. It's an instinctive reaction, a fight or flight – and Téa chose fight."

Yugi listened, and gradually began to quiet, though he still sniffled and shuddered for breath. Yami held him and soothed his hands over his back, resting his chin on the top of Yugi's head and just wrapping him up in strong, protective arms. Tristan took a step and set a hand on Bakura's shoulder. "Hey. You okay? I know that had to sting."

Ryo lifted a hand and surreptitiously wiped the tears from the ends of his eyelashes. "I'm all right," he whispered. "The truth is, I've always been gay, so it's not like I can blame Yugi for anything. I just…never expected…Téa?"

Duke came up and laid his head on Tristan's shoulder. "I won't forgive her for hurting you."

"She hurt you, too." He reached around to give Duke a comforting pat on the near shoulder. "That's really hard. That came out of nowhere."

Mokuba sat silent while the others talked out their anger and pain, listening but not interfering. Deep down, he was just as upset as the others because everything Téa had said about her friends, she had indirectly said about his brother, too. He didn't know how she could get off being so phobic when he got a lecture about it for even accidentally saying something bad. As Tristan reached to touch and comfort his lover, Mokuba looked up at them and blinked. "So, it's true? You guys are dating, too?"

"Yeah." Tristan shrugged uncomfortably. "Really, Téa was kind of right about something – everybody here except Joey and Mai really is gay. More or less."

"Oh." Mokuba shrugged as if to say that it was all right, but kept any further comment to himself.

"Somebody ought to go catch up to her," Joey said sadly. "Make sure she's all right."

"I'll go," Mai announced, standing up.

"Maybe Joey should," Tristan suggested. "No offense Mai, but we've been friends with Téa a lot longer."

"No offense, Tristan," Mai said in return, "but I'm the only one here allowed to go into the girls' room."

"Oh." He shrank away sheepishly. "Right, sorry."

"I understand." She patted him on the cheek as she passed. "I know you boys care about her, and I'll make sure to pass it along. But right now, a girl needs another girl to talk to. I'll take care of it." She glanced back at Joey and gave him a sad look. "You guys take care of Yugi."

They watched her go, and then Tristan and Duke returned to their seats to try to pick up where they left off. Grandpa leaned past Mokuba to double-check that Bakura was okay, being as he was alone among them, while Joey and Yami saw to it that Yugi calmed down and just rested in his partner's arms for a while. Not even the idea of more cake could cheer him up, but a few minutes of quiet helped, along with his friends piling up the extra napkins and sliding them over so he could blow his nose. Yugi gave them all a watery smile of thanks and leaned against Yami, heaving a shuddering sigh. "I'm sorry…" he started to mumble.

"Don't you dare," Joey said seriously. "It's not your fault. You were the one hurt here."

"But if I…if I'd tried…"

"Yugi," Yami said gently. "You did try. You are blameless." He kissed his sweetheart on the forehead and cuddled him close. "You don't have to say anything. We're here with you."

Yugi didn't look cheered, but he closed his eyes and accepted his partner's comfort. "Thanks."

There weren't any other parties sharing the pavilion, so there was little chance of any stranger coming into the private restrooms at this point, but Téa knew the owner of those brisk heels clicking on the tiled floor the moment they entered. She was hiding in one of the stalls dabbing at her eyes, and held her breath as the daunting steps came up and paused outside the door. "Go away, Mai," she said preemptively.

"No way," Mai said in return. She placed her hands on her hips and faced the closed door, behind which Téa's voice echoed just a bit. "I don't mean to sound rude, but what the hell was that?"

Téa shrank down even further. "You wouldn't understand."

"You're damn right I don't." Mai sighed in exasperation. "You sure picked a hell of a time to pick a fight with Yugi. In front of everybody, and on his birthday?" She shook her blond head. "You must really have it out for him."

"I don't have it out for him," Téa spitefully corrected her. "I just…I can't stand to see what he's doing to everybody. Asking us to accept him was one thing, but now…everybody's catching it."

"Are you that dense?" Mai complained. "Being gay isn't a disease you can catch from breathing the same air. I thought you were a smart girl, and knew that. Just because some of your friends finally came out of the closet in the past six months doesn't mean they weren't gay until they spent a little time around Yugi. It's not like _he's_ slept with any of them."

Téa's voice from behind the partition quivered with anger. "Do you have to be so crude about it?"

"Maybe I do," Mai said sharply, "because Yugi's way of being nice and gentle about it and giving you lots of time to think it over and learn to accept it clearly isn't working." She sighed again and stepped back, leaning on the opposite wall and folding her arms. "So it bothers you. I figured that might happen. I was really surprised when everybody else turned out to be so open-minded and understanding, I knew the other shoe had to drop sometime. Nobody can have a completely perfect circle of friends, not even someone as lucky as Yugi."

"Get out of my face, Mai," Téa snapped, sniffling back a sob. "I don't have to listen to you lecture me."

Mai chuckled slyly to herself. "I came down here to see if you were all right, the boys were all worried, but it looks like you're not in the mood to listen to reason. So I'll just lay it on the line for you." She glared at the closed door across from her. "I don't care if you're scared, or insecure about something, or genuinely homophobic, but you have no right to say the things you did to the people you're supposed to care about. Yugi's up there bawling his eyes out because of you. If you had any sense, you'd go up there right now and apologize to him – and to Tristan, and Duke, and Bakura, because they're just as offended. You hurt them, Téa, they're shocked because they never expected a friend like you to turn on them like that."

Mai's blunt assessment made Téa cringe and squeeze her eyes shut before a fresh round of tears could leak out of them. Hearing that Yugi was crying made her stifle a gasp in her throat. After a long pause to make sure Mai had no more accusations for her, Téa swallowed hard and snapped, "Well, how am I supposed to react to news like that? They were hiding it from me on purpose. How long have Tristan and Duke been going out, anyway?"

"Since Christmas," Mai answered flippantly. "They kept it from us for a couple of months, too, until they were sure they had something and felt it was right to share. Seriously, would you have wanted Joey to email you randomly and spring that news on you?"

"Well…no…" Téa murmured sheepishly.

"Maybe I don't understand what it looks like from your perspective," Mai went on, "but that's because I don't have it in me to see things from a bigoted point of view. I've always been open about these kinds of things."

A fist slammed against the metal partition of the stall. "I am _not_ a bigot!"

"Sure sounded like it to me," Mai sniffed. "Accusing Yugi of spreading a 'sickness' around his friends? Telling him it was disgusting?" She tilted her head casually. "And here I would have thought, going to school at a dance academy in New York, you'd find yourself surrounded by gay men."

"I am," Téa admitted angrily, "and they're all arrogant, pretentious jerks who sleep around and risk getting diseases just to…to have sex with strangers, and then they go around bragging about their conquests worse than the jocks in high school ever did."

"Is that it?" Mai said knowingly. "You're afraid that Yugi and the others being gay means that they're just like the jerks at your school or in your theatre circles? Then you obviously don't know your friends very well, do you?"

"Mai!" Téa yelped. "How could you? You don't know anything about me and Yugi and Joey and Tristan, you always mocked us for being such good friends…"

"Then how come I'm the one lecturing _you_ about how you should be treating them?" Mai straightened up and propped her fists on her hips again, leaning forward to berate the bathroom stall door. "Face it, Téa. Friendships change. People change. It's a fact of life, and no amount of crying about it is going to stop it from happening. Your friends have grown, they're discovering who they are and who they want to be with, while you're sitting there thinking they ought to be the exact same people they were in high school. It's been two years. You may not have noticed them changing because you're all the way in New York, but that's the way it is. If you can't handle that your friends are changing and finding out what they want out of life, then maybe you should end your friendship with them. You can't capture them in a bottle and preserve them forever just the way you remember them – that's what memories are for. Real life involves change, and you're not being fair to them to expect them to wait for you to come back from America so you can pick up where you left off."

The tirade left Téa shamed and quiet. The only noise from behind the door now was muted sniffling and shaky sighs. Mai gave her a moment and then stepped closer, setting her hand on the door. When she spoke again, her voice had gone gentle. "I know you're scared," she said patiently. "You came back thinking everything was going to be cool, and then you find out your friends are totally different people from what you remember. I'm sure it's a scary feeling. But what you're missing is that their hearts aren't different at all. They're the same great guys I remember meeting in Duelist Kingdom all those years ago, they still love each other and support each other the same. Everybody goes through changes, it's part of growing up, but as long as they don't lose sight of who they are deep in their hearts, it's okay. It's to be expected." She smiled to herself. "You also have to realize that the people at your school aren't characteristic of all gay men. Look at your friends and see them for who they really are: Yugi wears a promise ring for his lover every day of his life. Tristan and Duke decided to move in together because they want to make a relationship work. I don't know much about Bakura's situation, but I will admit I've never seen him smile the way he did when Marik was here visiting him last month. These guys aren't gay for the sake of being gay. They're with each other because they love each other, first and foremost. They aren't a part of 'that crowd,' so you don't have to be afraid for them." Mai turned away from the door and crossed her arms again. "I don't know how you could be so blind as to not see that. Yugi, especially. He loves so unconditionally, that hasn't changed a bit. The only thing that's changed is that he and Yami have been able to do this ritual once every month, so Yami can live all over again and do something about his feelings for Yugi."

Téa gave a shuddering sigh. "And what about my feelings? Every time I see Yugi with the pharaoh, it's like he's throwing them in my face."

Mai rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "For crying out loud, Téa, it's been two years," she griped. "More than that, I'll bet. Get over it."

More sniffling and shuffling. "I can't!" Téa whimpered.

"You're going to have to," Mai scolded over her shoulder. "Or else let go of the friendship and put it to rest. Yugi moved on a long time ago. Being jealous or afraid is no reason to insult him and break his heart. You owe him better than that." She turned and frowned at the door again, as if trying to stare through it to where Téa was hiding. "What you did today was nothing short of being a total brat. You insulted all of your friends and hurt them deeply. I expect you to go up there sooner or later and apologize to them for that, regardless of how you feel about the rest. After that, it's up to you. You don't like the idea of Yugi or Tristan being gay? Fine. That's your choice to make about your own beliefs, and no amount of me telling you how selfish and immature that is will change your mind. You're the only one who can decide whether you want to stay friends with them, and learn to accept them, or say goodbye now and go on with your own life. I'm sure you can make friends, meet a nice boy and get married, have a career, do everything you want to do, and not have to cross paths with these guys again. Me, I'm sticking with them. I'm excited about the prospect of marrying Joey and getting to hang out with Yugi and Tristan and the others all the time. They're the best friends I've ever hand. Hell, they're the only friends I've ever had." She turned and walked away, her heels clicking noisily all the way to the door. "I'll leave you alone now, because I've said my piece. I tried to understand, Téa, but I really don't. I don't know how you can throw your friendship with these guys away so easily." Her voice dropped with a hint of sadness. "They mean a lot to me, and I want to see them happy. But it's not my place to make their decisions for them. They seem to still want to be your friends, even after what you said. So, I hope you'll think about what I've said and do the right thing." She pulled the door open, and paused one last time. "What do you want me to tell them?"

Téa sniffed back the tears silently streaming down her face. "Tell them…I need to be alone in here for a while," she whispered. "I'll come out when I can face them again."

"Okay. We'll be out in the park if you need us." The door closed to with a heavy thud, leaving Téa by herself to mull everything over in the thick silence of the bathroom.

Mai rejoined the group upstairs to find Yugi finally sobered enough to be finishing off his cake, though rather halfheartedly. The others were talking, but seriously, and not about Téa. They all glanced up at Mai, who just strode confidently into their midst and returned to her seat next to Joey. He had to ask her, for all of them, "Well? What happened?"

"She's going to be in there a while," Mai replied. "It's best if we just give her some space."

"Did you talk some sense into her?"

"I did my best." Mai flipped her hair back over her shoulder and smiled at Yugi. "So, kiddo, what do you say? Are you ready to go back out and have some fun?"

Yugi stared at his plate. "I don't know. I don't feel like fun right now."

"Maybe, if you got to go do something no one else in the park can do…would that cheer you up?" Mokuba hesitantly offered.

Everyone looked at him. "What do you mean?" Yami queried.

Mokuba chanced a little smile to put them at ease. "Well, when my brother was here earlier, he reminded me about it just in case you guys might be interested to see it. It's the newest attraction to the park, we're almost finished building it so it can open later this year."

"Ahh, so that's the catch," Joey said knowingly. "I knew there was a reason he was giving us all this nice treatment. What does he want?"

Mokuba did not deny it. "He just wants your opinion on it," he answered, "if you guys are up for it."

"Depends on what it is," Tristan said warily.

"Well, I could tell you…" Mokuba grinned a little more. "Or I could take you over there and surprise you with it. I'll just say, it's something most of you have seen before, and I'm sure you'll really like it. That's why I know it would be a great way to cheer Yugi up and have some fun."

Yugi lifted his head and blinked at him, and then glanced solely at Yami. "Well…I guess, since Kaiba was so generous, the least we could do is see it. Who knows? Maybe it'll be worth it."

"I guess that's a yes, then," Tristan said to Mokuba. "Lead the way."

Leaving the picnic pavilion in disarray with the last slices of cake spirited back into the shelter, the group pushed in their chairs, downed their drinks, and followed Mokuba back through the park to the theme area where all of the dueling arenas and actual hands-on gaming could be found. There were arcades and big DDR stages and other attractions, but Mokuba brought them past all of it to a big building in the final stages of construction. There was nothing on the outside yet to give a clue about what might be inside, and the flowers and trees currently being planted in the landscaping were perfectly generic. Mokuba swept his security pass across the pad at the back door and then stuck his card locket into a waiting slot, clearing the final security barrier to let them pass. No one was working on the building at the moment, so he had to flip on all the lights as they walked through the backstage areas and came out into a huge room bearing a rather familiar layout of individual pods lined up in double rows along the walls. Mai pursed her lips, trying to figure out why this looked vaguely familiar, while the others gasped in awe. "Virtual pods!" Yugi cried for all of them. "Mokuba, does this mean…"

"Yep," Mokuba said proudly. "My brother finally got Legendary Heroes up and running."

Mai perked up and turned sharply to him. "Oh! That was it – the virtual game KaibaCorp asked me to test out."

"That's the one." Mokuba continued on down the middle aisle between rows of virtual pods, speaking as he went. "After the Big Five took it over and messed around with it, Seto kind of put it on the shelf for a while, but he spent so long working on it that he couldn't just dump it for good. He always wanted to make it a special feature of the arcades and stuff, and now that we have Kaibaland, it'll make the perfect addition. The technology's come a long way, too, he really streamlined it and made it so we can install smaller, less flashy versions in the arcades and KC game stores, but the only super-big high-end complete virtual pods will be at the Kaibaland theme parks. I mean, these are awesome," he gushed as he passed through a door into the control room next door. "Complete immersion, with heated, cushy seats and vibration mode and all that. It'll feel like you're really there."

"Painful shock of having life points ripped out of your body and everything?" Joey teased.

Mokuba grinned at him as he flipped switches to bring the computer online. "It's almost ready to go. They just have to finish up the building, and test all of the computer connections to make sure everything is working perfectly. My brother authorized me to let you guys go in and play a couple of rounds, kind of as a free beta test. What do you say?"

The gang looked around at each other, and then at Yugi. He was beginning to smile again, awed by the technology and the offering. "That sounds like fun," he said. "Can all of us play?"

"Well, right now, with no technician around to monitor everything, I can really only let four people go in at a time," Mokuba explained. "When we get it up and running, we'll be able to switch around to let any number of people into a single game, and run multiple games all at once, but the standard is to have four pods per game. There's a couple different game modes, though," he added. "You can play a team game, like part of the story mode or Capture the Flag or something, or you can play one-on-one, in survival mode." He flicked a switch, and a giant LED monitor came to life over their heads playing a dramatic trailer for the game. "The rest of us can watch from in here, this will show the game master everything that's going on inside the game. Oh, don't mind that – that's just the movie that will be playing in the lobby for everybody coming in to play, when it's open."

"Sweet!" Joey exclaimed. "Count me in, I'm ready to kick some computer ass!"

"I guess we'll have to split up into two different groups," Yugi noted as he counted heads. "Who wants to go first?"

"Well, you're the guest of honor," Duke reminded him. "You should play the first round."

"How 'bout you, me, Mai, and Yami," Joey suggested. "For old time's sake. Since we all played the first Legendary Heroes. And then everybody else."

"I'll sit this one out," Grandpa Muto offered, holding up his hands. "All that virtual technology makes my head spin."

"I can go in with you guys," Mokuba said to Duke, Tristan, and Bakura, "so you have a game master to lead the way. I'll have Yugi run the show from out here."

With that all decided, the first team of four went back into the room with the virtual pods and were ushered into the first four in the line. Mokuba showed them where to set their decks so the virtual card reader could take stock of their cards, and then indicated a control panel at their right hands. "I already logged everybody in from the main controls, so you just have to pick a character, and the whole process will start. You get a half-hour game, so decide now if you want to play a team game or one-on-one."

The four friends consulted one another, and agreed on a team game. Up popped the character selection screen on the flat pad next to them, and Mai immediately touched the screen to select the female warrior in Valkyrie armor she had worn the last time playing the game. "That's it right there, baby. Look out, boys, Mai's in town."

"I am _not_ wearing the rug this time," Joey declared. "Let's see…maybe…yeah, that guy looks cool." He selected a muscled samurai type, and settled back into his pod to await the start.

Yami recognized one of the offerings and selected it right away, blue armor with a red cape. Seeing as he picked that one, Yugi hemmed and hawed for a moment before picking another warrior with a similar style armor, but in black and silver instead. That done, all four pods began to close at the same time, and the players settled back in the comfortable, plush seats to let their minds be captured by the virtual technology. Mokuba retreated to the control room with the others, who crowded around the in-game monitor to watch. Another screen on the control panel displayed the names of the four players, with a current life point count of 4000 each. "I don't see them," Duke noted as Mokuba came and hit a few buttons.

"Give it a second," Mokuba assured. "They'll show up."

As if on cue, four fantasy-style characters materialized into view on the screen, the camera angle just above them capturing their costumes from a flattering angle as they checked themselves and each other out and looked around. The others inside the control room clustered by the monitor in fascination. "Look! It's really them!" Tristan said. "Not the characters they picked, it's them dressed up like the characters."

"Told you." Mokuba gave him a smug look over his shoulder as he donned a headset to communicate with the players. "Technology has come a long way since the first version."

The four players took a moment to get oriented with their surroundings and appearance before checking the duel disks on their arms for life points and then glancing around. They had arrived in a clearing in a forested area, which looked and sounded and felt for all things like reality. "Incredible," Yami breathed, lifting his head toward the sun filtering through tree limbs. "This is all happening within our minds?"

"Kaiba's really outdone himself," Yugi complimented. "It looks like he borrowed back some of the technology that was taken from him to create the virtual world, it's a living, breathing place."

Joey shrugged his armor on his shoulders and grinned. "Except you can't feel any weight, and I bet if I took out this sword it wouldn't do you any damage."

"I'd rather you didn't try," Yugi said warningly. He glanced at Yami and smiled. "You look awesome."

"So do you," the pharaoh said in return with a matching smile. "The black armor is stunning."

"Dressed to kill," Mai joked.

Joey looked around the clearing. "So…what do we do now?"

A voice answered from above. "This is your game master speaking," Mokuba called out. "You have thirty minutes to make your way from the clearing to the temple at the edge of the forest, and find the treasure inside. All of you have played before, so you know how to handle any monsters and obstacles that come up in your way. And if you lose all your life points before time is up, you're out. Time starts…now."

Yami threw back his shoulders and turned to face the path that led out of the clearing. "Well, let's get moving. There's no telling what might stand in the way of us getting to that temple."

"Pharaohs first," Joey grinned.

Their friends outside watched, intrigued, as the players chose their path and headed out, keeping together in a cluster. The in-game camera hovered overhead, and scenery and obstacles obligingly faded at appropriate times to let them see the characters on screen clearly. None of the foes in their way were particularly threatening, but it was clear the players were taking the game very seriously, since they were fully immersed in the world and viewed any attacker or monster as really being there. They were first accosted by a team of ninja monsters, who attacked them from the trees, but their attack points were low and each gamer had a monster ready at hand who could take them down. The problem was, the ninjas kept multiplying, until Yami reminded Yugi that he had a magic card that would eliminate them all at once. Since Yugi had chosen to summon Dark Magician Girl, he quickly pulled out Diffusion Wave-Motion and put an end to that assault in one fell swoop. The pharaoh was using his secondary deck, which contained its own Dark Magician variant, but he decided to trust his Flame Emperor to protect him for now. Further into the forest, the trees themselves started to come to life, and Mai pointed out that it was an effect of a Vampire Orchis, fueling the Des Dendles all around them and turning them into vicious, man-eating trees. That wasn't hard to counter, but one got Joey's monster and took him down in points. Fortunately, before moving on they uncovered a game secret – a Griggle, hiding under some leaves, which boosted everyone's life points. Just when they had sighted the temple and started running for it, they were attacked by swarms of various Insect-type monsters, but no matter how much their monsters swatted at the bugs, they couldn't kill any. Yugi discovered why, as a sultry fairy rose up out of the underbrush and laughed at them. A Prickle Fairy, in defense mode, who had to be destroyed before the insects could be killed. She may not have been able to attack their monsters, but there were Minars in the swarm who attacked life points directly. If not for the Griggle-boost, they could have nibbled away all their life points on the spot. Dark Magician Girl handled the fairy, and after that, it was just a few long minutes of picking off individual insects and then they could move on. But it had wasted much of their time, leaving them in a panic as to whether they could pass through the temple and find the treasure in time. Getting there wasn't the problem, but facing the guardian of the treasure was. Despair From the Dark swelled up out of the shadows and obliterated all their monsters, leaving them with just a couple of minutes and nothing to protect themselves, while it laughed and dared them to come for the treasure it guarded. Joey and Mai had nothing powerful enough close at hand, so it was up to Yugi and Yami, teaming together, to take down this boss. They only had time for one turn, to draw and play whatever was on top of their decks and hope that it was enough. Yami had the magic card, and Yugi the monster – The Cheerful Coffin, and Black Luster Soldier, Envoy of the Beginning. With the first, Yami deposited a monster into his graveyard, which happened to be Light, and then removed it, along with Yugi's Dark Magician Girl, so they could summon the extra-special Soldier and all 3000 of his attack points. He leaped in and slashed the boss monster to ribbons, and a triumphant fanfare sounded to let them know they had won the treasure. Just in time, too – they had no sooner turned to each other and cheered and the game expired.

Mokuba showed Yugi, which buttons to push when, and then it was time for the second round, as he escorted Duke, Tristan, and Bakura into the game. They had decided, based on their general inexperience either with dueling or Legendary Heroes itself, to play a one-on-one elimination battle in the desert city portion of the game world. Mokuba never dueled, and Tristan rarely, so Duke assured them that the only real challenge they'd have to face was Bakura, who just smiled cutely and promised to do his best. He and Duke at least had decks to input into the card reader, but to their surprise, Tristan also had one along. He grinned at their boggled looks. "What, I knew we were going to the Duel Monsters theme park," he explained. "I may not play with it a lot, but I still have it. I just hope it'll be some use against you guys."

"Aw man," Mokuba complained. "I have to have the computer construct one for me. I don't even own a deck."

"But you've probably played around in this game a lot," Duke reasoned. "You've got us there."

"This should be interesting," Bakura said cheerily.

They settled into the pods while Yugi and the others retreated to the control room to set the sequence in motion, and a few moments later, the character choices for the four players popped onto the screen. Bakura had picked a mage character with a sweeping robe, Tristan a burly barbarian, Mokuba a set of green and silver armor like Yugi's, and Duke appeared as what could have only been described as a bondage fairy. Yugi was giggling hysterically already, more so when he heard Duke's voice in his headset. "Hey! I like this! Nice character variety, Kaiba."

"Please tell me you didn't pick a girl character's outfit," Tristan groaned.

"All right, you guys," Yugi said to them. "When I start the time clock, you'll be transported to four different locations in the city. You have to find each other, and battle each other, until three of you are eliminated and only one is left."

"And just as a tip, there's life point boosts and Monster Reborn tokens all over," Mokuba said, "so collect them if you see them and if you get knocked out, you can bring yourself back to life."

"Ready?" Yugi tapped the key that would execute the command to start the game. "Go! Good luck, guys!"

The four players disappeared from the entry spot and reappeared in divergent locations, and the monitoring screen split itself into four smaller screens to show each of them to the game master. Those watching took great delight in seeing the four roam around for a bit, always hunting for each other but occasionally running into non-player characters that inhabited the town. They were only there for color and distraction, not to add to the battle, so it was hilarious (in Joey's estimation, anyway) to watch Tristan come around corners with his duel disk poised only to realize he had stumbled on yet another peasant. Mokuba evilly sought out the Monster Reborn tokens first before engaging in a battle, ensuring himself multiple lives. Duke and Bakura ran into each other first, and took a few swings at each other before retreating to boost their life points and find a slightly easier opponent. Unfortunately, the game rapidly turned into a round of Tristan-bashing, as his highly-underused deck showed its weaknesses early and made him an easy target for the others, even Mokuba. But he got enough of Mokuba's points down to leave him running in search of a boost with Duke hot on his tail, and not long after, he was eliminated for good. At least he and Tristan both had lasted well over half the game and had restarted once each, so they gave up and watched the game play out from an overhead-camera angle while Duke and Bakura hunted each other down in the streets. Duke had finally dug out his Orgoth, and figured he was safe from Bakura's favorite continuous magic and trap cards because the Legendary Heroes duel disk had no means of setting or maintaining them, but Ryo had some pretty sneaky tricks up his sleeve, and ended up trapping Orgoth and destroying him to clear the field so he could slash through Duke's life points with Dark Necrofear. The round ended slightly before the half-hour was up, but Bakura was the decisive winner and they came out of it agreeing that it was a really fun game.

The group of friends gathered in the main control room so they could all deconstruct the game that had just happened, exclaim about this or that great move and laugh over mistakes and funny moments. Mokuba plopped down in the swivel chair by the control panel and grinned at them. "So? What's the verdict? Do you guys like it?"

"It's awesome!" Yugi enthused. "I had no idea the full game would be so detailed."

"It's pretty cool," Joey agreed. "But what about the story that was in the first version of the game, the one we played? What happened to that?"

"It's still part of the program," Mokuba replied, "but you can only play it in parts. If you wanted to go through the whole story, from beginning to end, and fight the Five-Headed Dragon, there'll be some kind of membership program so you can save your progress and keep coming back to try to complete it. Seto has a few other ideas in mind for it, he hasn't totally worked that out yet. But it's in there." He nodded toward the controls. "The whole world has been built up, all the places and people from the first version are in there. But he made it so you can just play these short programs with a team or against each other instead of playing through the computer's organized story. Gives it more variety, I think."

"That's really neat," Yugi said happily. "It makes it so people will want to come back again, and keep playing it. You could almost never play the same game twice."

"I like the intricacy," Mai said. "There were any number of ways we could have fought the battles, depending on our cards. And the power-ups were nice."

"Yeah, that Griggle saved my ass," Joey admitted.

"How did you enjoy the battle mode?" Yami asked the others.

Tristan groaned. "I need a better deck before I do that again. I got my ass handed to me." He glared at one person in particular. "By somebody who doesn't even own a deck!"

Mokuba grinned insolently back. "Yeah, but look who my brother is."

"I had fun," Bakura admitted. "Though I would like to play the team game, also. Both versions are just as interesting. I've never experienced anything like that before."

"Oh yeah," Duke realized. "You've never gone into the virtual world before, have you?"

Ryo shook his head. "It was fascinating. I felt as though I was really there, running through the streets and looking over my shoulder for enemies."

"Would you come back to the park to play again?" Mokuba asked them all.

Each one nodded and said yes. "If this is the only place where you get the full effect," Joey reasoned. "We haven't always had the best of times in the virtual world, but a full-on game with nobody hacking in from outside would be totally cool."

"I don't suppose there'll be any opportunity for arcade owners to have their own versions," Duke asked warily.

"I don't think so. It's a KaibaCorp exclusive," Mokuba smirked.

"Great, now Kaiba's gonna get even more of our money," Tristan sighed.

Yugi laughed. "I guess that means you can pass on word to Kaiba that his game gets a seal of approval from world-class Duel Monsters gamers."

"And Tristan," Joey offered.

"Yes, thank you for bringing us here to play," Yami added maturely. "I know Kaiba did it out of a desire to have a test run, but it was still fun. We enjoyed it very much."

"Sure thing." Mokuba hopped up and gestured for them to come along. "I gotta shut down and lock up. You guys know your way back to the picnic area. I'll meet you back there, if you want to hit more roller coasters after this."

The group left the building by the back entrance and stood for a moment outside orienting themselves to the park's attractions before heading off toward the pavilion. No one mentioned Téa at all, even though they would likely encounter her when they got back, because Yugi was finally smiling again, walking hand-in-hand with Yami. Whatever pain he still felt on the inside, he wasn't letting it show. Perhaps the time they had spent distracting themselves with the spectacular atmosphere and gameplay of the Legendary Heroes world had done them all enough good to let the rest of the day go on as normal. They would find out very shortly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 3

Playing Legendary Heroes had wasted more than an hour, and the afternoon was drawing on when the gaggle of friends made it back to the picnic pavilion to check on Téa. She had at least come out of the bathroom, and was belatedly finishing off her cake in a closed, sullen mood while she waited for them to return. She glanced up when the noisy bunch intruded on the otherwise silent pavilion, her eyes going straight to Yugi and Yami in the middle of the group with a look of regret. Yugi sobered immediately, gazing back in expectation and scant hope. Joey broke the tension for them. "Hey, Téa. How're you doing?"

Téa glanced at him and gave a tiny shrug. "Okay, I guess. Uh, Yugi…?" She lowered her eyes to the crumbs on her plate. "Um…I'm sorry I upset you. Mai told me. I…that was really mean of me, to make you cry on your birthday. I'm sorry."

Yugi nodded. "I understand you're probably scared, that we don't seem to be the same people you remember anymore," he said timidly, "but I wish you could see that everything's okay. It's not at all like you think."

Téa looked from him to Tristan and Duke, and then to Bakura just behind them. "You're going to all have to give me some space while I think about that," she said thickly. "All the surprises…it's not really sitting well with me. I need to think about how I really feel about it."

"Sure thing," Tristan said heavily with a nod. "Take your time, Téa."

She mustered her composure and looked around the group, deciding to address Mai and Joey. "Where did you guys go? More rides?"

"Actually, Mokuba took us to see a big secret of the park," Joey replied. "Kaiba's putting in a real Legendary Heroes virtual world, and he let us take first crack at it. Pretty neat, I'm sorry you missed out on it."

"That's okay." Téa chanced a faint smile, while the others milled around and got drinks. "I think I've had my fill of virtual worlds for one lifetime. As long as you guys had fun."

"Yeah, it was really fun," Yugi agreed in a soft tone.

"When Mokuba gets back here, we're going to go on some more rides," Grandpa Muto offered. "Would you like to join us?"

"What about your presents, Yugi?" Mai broke in. "You should probably open them before we head back out, in case anybody has to leave early or gets split off from the group."

"Oh. Well, as long as we've got a few minutes," Yugi said, going around the table to his seat. His friends gathered up the small bags and boxes they had brought for him and piled them in front of him before taking their own seats to watch. It filled the time until Mokuba's return nicely, and the brief flicker of melancholy in Yugi's mood was successfully wiped away by the little gifts. Joey's, actually, wasn't so little, but they had been best buddies for a long time and owed each other extravagant presents for their respective milestone birthdays. Bakura got him a silver necklace, Duke got him a crazy t-shirt, and Tristan gave him an entire boxed set of an animated series Yugi loved. He could afford it, now that he wasn't shelling out so much rent. The showering of so much affection rendered Yugi adorably teary again, necessitating some roughhousing from Joey to perk him back up. "Thanks, all of you," he gushed to them, feeling a little silly for getting so emotional in front of them. "It means a lot to me, to have you here. Everything's just gone so awesome today, thank you."

Téa shrank down in her seat, thinking what had been unsaid and Yugi was too forgiving to say: _except for that whole thing with Téa getting mad at me_. The others just passed off his sentiment and assured him that he was worth it. "It's been the coolest birthday party I've been to in a while," Duke added. "Hey, wait a minute. Didn't your own boyfriend get you a present?"

Some of them eyed Yami, but he sat there cool and collected, hardly twitching an eyebrow. "Of course I did," he replied smoothly. "But I prefer to give it to Yugi later, when we're at home."

"Aw, something special," Joey teased with a stupid grin.

"Well," Yugi quickly interjected before anyone could start making comments about being alone and in the bedroom, "what do you say to one last round of rides and games before we call it a day? I am getting kind of tired, but I'm not ready to leave just yet."

They all agreed it sounded like a good idea, so with Mokuba's VIP clearance going ahead of them, they split up again and hit a few more roller coasters before winding out the day playing carnival games based on the gambling-style magic and trap cards such as the ones Joey stacked his deck with. His familiarity with the concepts didn't make him any better at playing them, though, and no one did particularly well, coming away with a few trinkets. By that time it was definitely getting late in the afternoon and the park started to clear out, as families with tired and whiny children opted to leave before dinner and other patrons just sort of milled about or looked for food before the evening shows and events got started. All that was left for the partygoers was to snoop through gift shops for souvenirs and take some last-minute photos, and then they mutually agreed that they had wrung every last bit of fun out of Kaibaland and could declare the party officially over. They wrapped up what was left of the cake, collected Yugi's presents, and escorted him to the park gate where they could trade hugs and say farewell for now. Téa just gave them all a little wave before darting off, not wanting to make them any more uncomfortable than they were, but the others wished their friend well and happy birthday one more time before heading in their own directions. Bakura helped Yugi and Yami carry things to the car, and then held the door for the guest of honor. "How are you doing?" he asked kindly before Yugi could hop in.

Yugi's mood had grown withdrawn again, as exhaustion and emotion caught up to him with the waning of the day. He just gave a little sigh and closed his eyes. "I don't know. I had fun, but…there's still a bit of a shadow hanging over me. I won't be able to think of how great this day was without thinking about Téa…"

"Perhaps a little pick-me-up on the way home is called for?" Grandpa wondered as he opened the car door. "Ice cream, maybe? You too, Bakura."

Yami definitely perked up, and Yugi gave his grandfather a warm smile. "Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun."

They swung past a place to get ice cream on the way to dropping Bakura off, and he was delighted to be able to be the last to say goodbye to Yugi for the day. Whether it was the ice cream itself or the thought that he was going home to spend the rest of the day with Yami, Yugi's spirits had raised just enough, and he beamed happily to Bakura as they left him outside his flat. When they got home and toted everything upstairs, Grandpa Muto surprised the pair by taking a light jacket out of the front hall closet. "It's such a nice evening," he said casually, "I think I'm going to take a nice long walk and stop by the market. I know nobody's hungry for dinner, but I have to think about tomorrow." He winked playfully to the boys. "I could use the exercise."

"Are you sure, Grandpa?" Yugi wondered. "I mean…Yami and I could sit with you and…"

"I'm quite sure," Grandpa assured, holding up a hand to stop him there. "It's going to be a pretty night, just right for walking. It's what I'm going to do, so I hope you two can find some way to entertain yourselves without me. I have things to attend to." He grinned and donned his jacket, checking to make sure he had his keys. "I don't get to go out in the evenings very much, you know."

Yugi realized, then, just how cool his grandpa really was, and hugged him fiercely, murmuring, "Thanks, Grandpa." He saw him to the door, and turned to find Yami waiting for him, hands clasped behind his back and a gentle smile in his eyes. Yugi smiled back, a little shyly. "Well. I guess we have…all the time we want, now."

Yami chuckled under his breath. "If Grandpa wanted to get out of the house so we could have some uninterrupted private time, he just had to say so. He already got plenty of exercise at the theme park today."

Yugi giggled. "I know, but that's Grandpa for you. Well." He stepped up to Yami, tilting his head up to smile at him. "Now that we have the house to ourselves, what do you want to do?"

"Well, I'm too full of ice cream to want dinner," Yami admitted, "and too tired to play any more games. I think it may be time to take your mind completely off everything that has happened today."

"That's an interesting way to put it," Yugi purred. He let himself be gracefully escorted to his bedroom, and took a moment to open the skylight to let the cool evening breeze into the room. Before he could even remind his partner that there was supposed to be some kind of special present waiting for him, Yami took him into his arms and kissed him deeply, cradling him tenderly and pouring all of his heart and soul into the kiss until Yugi had absolutely no question about just how much their relationship meant to each of them. He leaned against his partner and laid his head on his chest, feeling the pharaoh's lean body expand with a sigh and his arms circle around his shoulders to hold him close. He could feel lips softly nibbling at his temple and forehead and smiled to himself. "So what do you have in mind?" he murmured.

"You are the special one today," Yami replied. "I thought to give you everything you could possibly ask for, to shower you with the best treatment I can offer." He bent his head and said the rest sensually in Yugi's ear. "If you have any requests, then…"

Yugi gasped as a thrill of anticipation rippled through his chest and down through his whole body. "I'm sure you already know what I might want," he shyly said. "You know my mind so well."

"As long as you know." The pharaoh let go of him and took a step back, so he could bunch up the hem of his shirt in his fists and pull it swiftly off, leaving himself bare-chested and beautiful in front of his young lover with only the silver ankh pendant resting just below his throat. "Just a word from you, and it's yours."

"I trust you." Yugi grinned to himself, pleased by the shameless display and excited to see what was next. Yami stepped back up to him and slid his hands around his waist, sneaking his thumbs up under the edge of his tank top to caress his flanks. They didn't linger long, though, gliding around front and reaching to unbuckle the two belts and undo Yugi's jeans. Yugi leaned a little into his partner as hands snuck into his jeans, around his ass, and deftly tugged them down. Apparently, anticipation was foreplay enough. Yami helped him out of his pants and briefs, and caressed his body lovingly as he turned him and encouraged him to sit down on the edge of the bed. Yugi sat back, the Puzzle jingling to a comfortable position on his stomach, as Yami prowled before him and sank down to his knees. Another gasp told him that Yugi understood what he intended to do, and agreed with it.

Smiling indulgently, Yami slid his hands up along Yugi's bare thighs to his hips and then waist, circling around him to pull him closer to the edge of the bed, so as to allow him the best position in which to work. Yugi scooted forward and set his hands behind him on the bed, bracing himself for the goodness that was to come. His cock even twitched in expectation, already feeling the heat of closeness and the draft of his partner's breath as he leaned in close. He began by kissing Yugi's abdomen, gently, teasingly, from the hollow of one hip across to the other, all the while letting his fingertips brush back and forth along the small of Yugi's back. Just having him there in that position made Yugi hot and hard without the benefit of a single erotic touch yet, as he looked down at his partner settled in his lap. He sat breathing heavily, face flushed, to see the pharaoh with his eyes closed trailing his lips slowly across Yugi's abdomen. At last, he lifted his head and gave his young lover a gentle yet seductive look through half-closed eyes, and brought one hand back around him to slide over his thigh to between his legs and stroke him delicately. "You are so beautiful," he murmured, admiring Yugi's shape with his touch. "I like being able to touch you for real…even if it isn't new to me any longer…"

Yugi smiled bashfully, though he was breathing too hard to form a response. It didn't require one, anyway – if Yami wanted to whisper sweet nothings about his body through every step of their lovemaking, Yugi sure wasn't going to stop him. He just watched, forcing himself not to jerk in surprise, as Yami held his growing erection in place and bowed his head to favor it with a long, teasing lick. It was merely the start of a prolonged session, as Yami patiently kissed, tasted, and sucked him to hardness and took his time bringing him to release. Yugi eventually fell back onto his elbows, unable to hold himself up any longer, as his lover kept working at him, tongue and lips soft and steady as if working the ice cream cone he had enjoyed earlier. At last, he took Yugi into his mouth and suckled him to completion, holding on with his arms around Yugi's hips while the young one threw his head back and cried out with every gasping breath the closer he came. It was almost too much, the way Yami kept pushing, not aggressive, just enough to tease and build until finally Yugi thrust into his mouth and came, his whole body recoiling. Yami caught him and swallowed, and then licked him clean, while Yugi flopped onto his back to catch his breath. The Puzzle fell down beside him, beneath his arm. It wasn't until he'd started to regain his senses that Yami pushed himself up and leaned over him, smiling down at him before helping him out of his shirt and then kissing him hotly. The salty taste on his lips made Yugi moan softly. The pharaoh chuckled deeply. "I trust that was a nice start to the evening?"

Yugi just mumbled incoherently in response. He looked up hazily to find Yami straightening up rather than sprawling down beside him and continuing. "What?" he wondered. "Yami?"

Yami smiled cheerily. "I just thought it was time to give you your present."

"Ohh…" Feeling a little bashful for some reason, Yugi sat up and wrapped his arms demurely around his naked body. Maybe it was the heated way his lover was staring down at him. "All right. What is it?"

The pharaoh turned and went to the desk nearby, where Yugi had deposited all of the bags and packages from his friends. At some point in the day, Yami's gift had made its way surreptitiously from someone's handbag into one of the gift bags Yugi had already looked through, so he would never find it until now. Yami dug in and pulled out a fistful of pink tissue paper, and returned to the bed to present it ceremoniously to his young love. "I wish I could have been as sentimental as your friends and Grandpa, considering the big day," he explained, "but I will freely admit, I only had one thing on my mind. I asked Mai to pick it up for me, since she knew where to go to find it."

Yugi could feel a small, hard object somewhere inside the tissue paper, and peeled it away to find a glass vial with a pink label. He read it and began to grin widely. "Massage oil? From Aya's! Yami!" He laughed. "That's it, I've totally corrupted you. You're not a proud, noble pharaoh anymore, you're just like all the rest of us guys – a mind on sex."

Yami shrugged one shoulder casually, not denying it. "So I've become a hedonist," he purred. "Or perhaps I was all along, and just needed you to bring it out of me." He cocked his head in interest. "What do you think? Do you like it?"

Yugi glanced at the label again and smiled sweetly. "Rose scented, huh? That's still pretty romantic." He tossed away the tissue paper and crooked his finger to encourage his lover to join him on the bed. "I think you need to show me how it works."

"I've been told, it's not just for massages." Yami stepped closer, running his fingertips along Yugi's jaw to tilt his head up, and smiling down at the happy light in his partner's eyes. After the upsetting exchanges that afternoon, it was nice to see him glowing as brightly as he had earlier, before things got dark. He stood for a moment stroking his fingertips along Yugi's neck and jaw, basking in his smile, before offering his hand. Yugi placed his in it, and was directed to reach up and unbutton Yami's pants for him. The pharaoh stood back like a concubine, hips tilted forward, while his lover slowly unwrapped him like the rest of the present, leaving him naked and ready. Only then did he kneel on the bed beside Yugi, helping him to lie down normally so they could find out just how useful the massage oil was.

At this point in their relationship, Yugi and Yami had completely lost track of how many times they had made love to each other, in what positions, on what nights, with what extras to make it hotter. Yet, every single time was something to Yugi, no matter if he was being patiently romanced or just being taken hot and fast. As Yami laid himself out beside him, partially on top of him, and kissed him for a very long time, Yugi knew this would be just as special, in its own way. As kisses and hands roamed all over his body, chest and stomach and thighs, he could only think of Yami, being with him, touching him, feeling him inside, looking into those violet eyes and knowing that he was loved. It didn't matter how long it took to arouse him a second time, or what was being done, he loved every second of it and vocalized it with every breath. By that time, he had completely forgotten all about that afternoon and being upset, all that mattered to him was Yami – not the pharaoh, as Yugi had suggested, but the young man who loved him, who wanted and needed him and was doing his very best right now to express it through his entire body. Hands tangled in each other's hair, kisses seeking out patches of sweaty skin that might have been missed the last time through, they sprawled out together and brought themselves to tingling arousal before Yami finally uncapped the vial and let the subtle scent of roses steal through the room. Yugi breathed deeply and sighed happily, thinking of the roses he had been given for his birthday a year ago. Then, he wasn't thinking about anything, because oiled fingers had just penetrated him and were stroking inside him.

It was the kind of night to take things slowly, to face each other and entwine their fingers and not rush to the climax. The rose scent surrounded them as Yami prepared and then pushed inside, finding the oil a much more interesting substitute to the norm. He had to consciously restrain himself from just plunging in and forcing them both to come as quickly as possible, he didn't want it to end and knew he had to take conscious control over his raging body lest it all be over before it got really good. He started slow and sweet, making each thrust linger, letting Yugi feel it all the way to the tips of his toes. He waited until he heard the demand: "harder," Yugi breathed, "faster." Only then did Yami push, though his idea of faster was still a torturously gradual escalation of pace. It was a good thing they were alone in the house, because by that time Yugi was crying out without restraint, completely abandoned to pleasure and thinking of nothing else. Yami wrapped his arms around his young lover's body and pulled him into himself, quickening at last to the final stretch. Not too long after and Yugi grabbed hard onto the arms holding him, bracing himself against the waves of orgasm building and breaking through him. Eyes shut tight, tears on his lashes, he gave one more cry as he came and felt his partner release a moment later. They held, panting and trembling, and then it was over, and they folded into each other.

Exhausted and sweaty, both decided that lying together with arms around each other for a long, silent time was just what they needed after such prolonged and intense lovemaking. Once they calmed, and laid so that Yami could hold Yugi in his arms with his head on his shoulder, all that was left was a quiet room filled with the scent of roses. Outside, beyond the skylight, a bird chirped somewhere and a light breeze made the leaves of the tree next to the house rustle comfortingly, but that was all they could hear. It was such a peaceful, blissful moment, neither wanted to move or speak and end it. It was nice just to be together, to stroke arms or chests or necks or cheeks with light fingertips and occasionally press a tender kiss to a temple or cheek. Every long, contented sigh from Yugi made Yami chuckle very slightly, but there was nothing that they needed to say to each other. After a good, long rest, during which it seemed Yugi was getting sleepy, Yami twisted around to look at where they had set the vial of rose oil on the headboard shelf. He pondered the words on the label for a while, and finally broke the deep silence between them. "Perhaps," he began in a placid murmur, "I could do one more thing for you."

"Hmm?" Yugi wondered, opening his eyes and lifting his head.

Yami stroked his cheek and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "After such a long day, and all that walking, you must be tired. Perhaps I could test to see if the 'massage' part of your present is applicable."

"Mmm?" Yugi glanced to see him studying the vial of oil, and smiled as Yami took it down from the shelf. "I thought you were supposed to start with the massage and then make love after."

Yami chuckled again. "A massage doesn't always have to be purely to segue into sex," he noted. "Wouldn't you feel good if I rubbed your back?"

"What about you?" Yugi curled up against him and nuzzled his neck. "You walked around all day, too…"

"My body has only been in existence less than twenty-four hours," the pharaoh reminded him, "it could not possibly go through enough stress in that time to require a massage. Yours, however, is twenty years old." He kissed his lover again and then began to work himself free, regardless of whether he was going to get permission to treat Yugi to a massage. "Come, let me do this for you."

"Oh, all right," Yugi sighed, picking up the Puzzle so he could roll safely onto his stomach. He felt Yami slide a leg over him and settle down to a seat on his thighs, and giggled a little to feel certain parts at rest in certain places. The pharaoh gave a similar chuckle, as the thought crossed his mind at the same time, but there was no need to get themselves worked up again. This was for Yugi, to relax him and put the perfect cap on a mostly perfect birthday. He poured a small amount of oil into the palm of his hand and set the rest aside, rubbing his hands together and then pushing them up the length of Yugi's back. Yugi let out a low groan and closed his eyes, going limp with his arms at his sides. Yami certainly did have strong hands, he noticed, as those hands rubbed circles across his back and kneaded his shoulders. He hadn't realized how tense he was until the massage began, and now just laid in silence while Yami worked out the knots with his thumbs and spread the oil from his fingers all down his partner's body. From the back of his neck to the tip of his tailbone, Yami prodded and rubbed until Yugi became even more sleepy, blinking hazily and heaving long sighs at the feeling of being pampered so. At last, figuring he had gotten every inch of his lover's upper half, Yami climbed off him and laid next to him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him back into his chest. The rose oil was not sticky, and absorbed into Yugi's skin quite nicely, leaving him cooled and relaxed and dreamy as he felt himself being cradled in protective arms. He whispered, "Thank you," and received only a purr in reply before they fell into another long, peaceful silence. Yami held him and kissed his moist, scented skin until Yugi fell asleep in his arms, at which he just settled for lying with him and watching him doze.

It had been such a strange day, Yami mused to himself while Yugi slept. From elation to depression and back again, his poor partner had been through so much. What he had said to Kaiba at lunch, about the secret tears Yugi let no one else see, seemed so much more poignant now. To those on the outside, Yugi led a relatively happy and carefree life, but it wasn't always so. Conflicts like the one at the park today hurt him worse than any mundane issues of finances or employment or whatever else normal people considered a bad day. Yami combed back the bangs drooping across Yugi's face in order to study him, to see how beautiful he was in slumber. He was twenty, now, but he still seemed so youthful and fragile, proving that age was just an arbitrary marker of life's twists and turns. Yet, Yami had been with him long enough to notice the changes. Yugi was even slightly taller, now, than the first day he had solved the Puzzle. There was just enough maturity in his round, adorable face to assure onlookers he was no mere high school student anymore. His naked body showed even more maturity, with just enough muscle on his slender arms and chest, his trim stomach, and no small cock lying at rest across his thigh at the moment. The pharaoh smiled to himself. This was his vessel, his Yugi, grown to adulthood but still retaining his youth and innocence, as it should be. Truly, apart from the specific genetic markers that gave him his own features, his wide, smiling eyes, petite nose, and soft lips, he had become the modern incarnation of the pharaoh. Yami had never felt so proud of him, simply for existing. He snuggled against Yugi and nuzzled the back of his neck, content to hold him all night if that was what it took. He would never let anything come between them, and if he had anything to say about it, nothing would ever hurt Yugi the way his friends had ever again. He closed his eyes and sighed. _Never again_.

Yugi dozed for a short time but awoke around sunset, feeling first that there was a nice, cool breeze coming in from the skylight to counter the warmth of his room and the body curled up against him. He purred and blinked his eyes open, only to hear an amused chuckle in his ear. "You're awake."

Relaxed and happy, Yugi stretched, allowing his naked buttocks to brush against the cock behind him. "How long was I out?" he murmured, wrapping his arms around the ones clasped about his chest.

"Maybe an hour, if that." Yami nuzzled him behind his ear. "I didn't know if you intended to sleep the night away, but I wasn't going to disturb you." Another chuckle. "You're adorable when you sleep."

Yugi blushed and squirmed in his partner's arms. "M'not…"

"You certainly are." The nuzzling became kissing, along the side of his neck and jaw. "Did you want to get up? Or are you done for the day?"

"I kind of like where I am," Yugi admitted, caressing one of the hands splayed across his chest. "We don't have to get up. Mmm…we didn't use up all the massage oil, did we?"

"No. There's still quite a bit left. I only used perhaps a quarter of the bottle." Yami lifted his head to give his partner a curious look. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Yugi turned in his arms enough to nuzzle him back and give his cheek a kiss. "That means we can use my present a couple more times before it's all gone. That's good."

The pharaoh squeezed him lovingly. "Does that mean you like it?"

"It's wonderful. Thank you." Yugi laid his head back on his pillow. "Not every gift has to be sentimental. It was something you and I could share together, privately, and that means enough." He giggled under his breath. "Where did you get the idea? Or did you just tell Mai to pick something up at Aya's and leave it to her?"

"From Marik," Yami freely admitted. "Or, well, Bakura and him. Wasn't this what Bakura said he had gotten Marik before he left?"

"Oh yeah…" Yugi smiled and nestled back against Yami's chest. "That was a good idea."

Yami's hands caressed across his body as they laid there unwilling to tear themselves apart, extending the day and their private time to its limits. There was no sound in the house beyond the door to indicate whether Grandpa Muto had come back from the market yet, but either way, the sun was only just setting, meaning they still had time left in the day for each other if they so desired. And apparently, they did desire, for Yami's hands continued to roam lower and lower until one brushed against Yugi's cock, and decided to stay there for a while, fondling and massaging him with a hand made soft by the rose oil until Yugi responded. They had enough energy left to make love one more time, in pretty much the same position they were already in, before finally dragging themselves out of bed to hit the shower after night had fallen and Grandpa had definitely returned. He hadn't heard them the last time, figuring they had gone to sleep, so it surprised him to see them creep out of the bedroom barely wrapped in some semblance of pajamas and disappear into the bathroom. They wished him a good night and returned to their room afterward, fresh and clean, tossing aside their pajama tops in favor of bare-chested snuggling. They curled up in each other's arms under just a thin sheet to kiss and caress each other until midnight crept up on them. Yugi sighed and laid his head on Yami's chest, so many things swirling about his head that he wanted to say to his lover, but none of them would come out. In the end, he figured Yami would find out about them when he returned to the Puzzle and had access to Yugi's mind again, so he remained silent and just let himself be held and cared for. Above all, Yami had taken away his fears and made him to feel loved again, and for that, he was grateful beyond words. At last, the ritual came to its closing seconds, and Yugi whimpered, for once not wanting Yami to leave him. The pharaoh hugged him tightly and kissed him before placing his lips beside his ear. "Sleep well, my love," he whispered. "I will be with you. I'm glad I get to be the last one to say happy birthday."

"Thank you," Yugi whispered back. "I love you, Yami…"

"I love you too." He had just enough time for a tender smile before the ritual ended and his body ceased to be. Yugi closed his eyes and sighed forlornly, and then cradled the Puzzle to his chest. He usually took it off after midnight, but not this time. He needed to feel Yami with him to the very end.

A couple of days passed and the gang seemed to have fallen back into their usual routine without a second thought to any issues that had riled them all up in the middle of the birthday party. Yugi still had flashes of thought to it, but his spiritual partner assured him that there was nothing they could do except wait for Téa to think it through and come to them. And if she didn't, if that was the last they would ever hear from her, so be it. They were all adults now, more or less, and it was time for them to make adult decisions like whether or not a friend's change in lifestyle was worth ending the friendship over. Yet, while Yami wisely counseled Yugi and the others more or less overlooked it, Téa was still fretting over it. She would be leaving in a short time to go to Osaka for the summer and perform with a traditional dancing group, and then after that it would be back to New York for her regular semester of school, so if she wanted to see more of her friends or possibly make up for what she had done to them, it had to be now. Was it enough time, though? Had she thought enough about it? She could only hope the answer was yes, as she told her family she had some errands to run and went out for a long walk one afternoon.

Now that summer was in full swing, Duke Devlin's game shop fairly screamed with activity, as kids came in looking for games to play and challenges to meet, what with the arcade games and dueling arenas available. Téa sidestepped several rambunctious youngsters as she made her way inside and hunted around, expecting to see Duke somewhere among the crowd. When she couldn't spot him easily, she made her way to the register and asked the clerk whether he was available. "Oh, yes, he's downstairs in the dueling arenas," she replied. "One of them has gone on the fritz, he's talking to the repair guy. Would you like me to page him?"

"Oh, no…" Téa smiled amicably. "I'll just hang around for a bit, it's nothing urgent. Thanks."

She had made the rounds of the store checking out the new arcade setup, which she hadn't seen before, and watched some kids play on the DDR stage before Duke finally came up from the sub-level arenas, looking a bit frazzled. He leaned against the main counter and talked briefly with the clerk, and then turned to find Téa standing right beside him, hands shyly clutching her purse in front of her. "Téa," he said with considerable surprise. "Uh…what brings you here?"

"Um…" She scratched an imaginary itch on her cheek. "Well…I kind of wanted to talk to Tristan. But since he moved in with you, I don't have his address or phone number now. Is he, um, home?"

Duke gazed at her suspiciously for only a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, he just got home from work," he replied. "I'm sorry, if I knew he'd been so dumb as to not even give you his new phone number, I would have made sure you had it."

"It's okay," Téa said with an uncomfortable shrug. "I guess, he probably figured that would just have raised more questions that he couldn't answer in a letter."

"You want to go up?" Duke tossed his head toward the stairs that led up to his office and the flat beyond. "He should be out of the shower by now."

Téa breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, actually, that would be really nice," she said politely. "I do want to talk to him. And you, I guess." She lowered her eyes. "I owe you guys a major apology."

"It's all right. Hey, Aiko, I'm going upstairs for a bit. If anything happens, buzz the office. I'll be down after I grab some dinner, all right?" Duke said to the girl behind the counter. He turned and breezed away. "Come on. You haven't been up to my apartment before, have you?"

"Actually, no," Téa realized. "Just your office."

Duke led the way up to the office, and then through it to the door on the far side that separated it from his flat. As they passed inside, they could hear clattering coming from the kitchen, pinpointing the current location of Duke's partner. Téa paused for a moment, letting Duke go ahead and peek in to see what he was up to. He stopped in the doorway and laughed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm making dinner, what does it look like?" came Tristan's reply.

"Damn." Duke gave another appreciative laugh. "It's about time you started pulling your weight around here. Hey…" He sobered. "You got a minute?"

"Why?"

"Téa's here."

Tristan suddenly appeared in the doorway, peering out to see Téa standing out of the way, still in a closed-off, shy stance with both hands on her purse. He blinked in surprise and then softened. "Hey, Téa. What's up?"

"Nothing much," Téa replied as casually as she could. "Is this a bad time? I could come back another day…"

"Nah, it's okay." Tristan came out of the kitchen with Duke tagging along just behind him. "I'm just in the middle of making dinner – you want to stay? Have dinner with us?"

Duke thumbed towards him. "He's never done this before, just to warn you."

"Shut up, I've cooked before," Tristan complained.

Téa didn't look so sure. "Well…I just wanted to talk. To, uh…apologize for the other day."

"Stay for dinner," Tristan implored. "We can talk, sure. I always do better talking over dinner anyway."

"Yeah, stay long enough for dinner," Duke added. "I have to grab a bite and run back downstairs, I'm supervising until close tonight."

"Okay," Téa relented. She stepped a little further in, while Duke ducked into the kitchen to check on Tristan's experiment and make sure he wasn't about to blow everything up, leaving Tristan to handle his friend. "So," she began. "You really did move in here, huh?"

"Yeah," Tristan said with a faint smile. "I was sick of that rundown flat by the harbor, and trying to pay all my own bills. I share expenses with Duke, we're roommates on top of anything else."

"I guess it does make sense." She looked around a bit, though she had never actually seen Tristan's old place and couldn't tell at a glance what was his and what was Duke's. The place did look interesting, and had a touch of style to it that she figured could not have come from Tristan.

"Hey, this is your job, not mine," Duke called from the kitchen. "Get in here and finish this."

Grinning, Tristan went to do as demanded, taking Duke's place in front of the stove to see to the finishing touches on dinner. It wasn't anything complicated, just curry from a package, but Tristan was obviously taking it very seriously. Téa stood in the doorway and watched the two young men circle around each other, getting what they needed and avoiding running into each other, tossing snarky quips at each other the whole time. It was better to let them finish and get dinner on the table rather than try to interrupt them with serious talk, lest either of them get distracted and become a hazard to the other. Within a few minutes, Duke was hurriedly fixing himself a bowl while Tristan saw to actually setting the table for himself and Téa, so they could all sit down for a few minutes. "Sorry about that," Tristan said as he pulled out a chair for Téa. "You kind of caught me right at the tail end of cooking."

"It's okay," Téa assured him. "It saves me having to worry about being late for dinner at home. It looks good…"

"Anybody can read a package," Duke grinned. "If you screwed this one up, I'd be laughing at you for a month."

"And doing all the cooking yourself," Tristan reminded him. "So?" He sat and gazed at Téa before getting started. "You came to talk? Is this a good talk or a bad talk?"

"An 'I'm sorry' talk," Téa said quietly. "I'm going to be out of town again before you know it, so I thought I ought to make up for my bad behavior at Yugi's party first. I was pretty mean to you guys, and I'm sorry." She looked back and forth between the two of them. "I'm sorry if I offended you or hurt you."

Tristan folded his arms on the table, for once not diving into the food – though Duke was already busy wolfing down his quick dinner. "Yeah, I have to admit, that did really hurt," he said plainly. "It hasn't been easy for me, first coming to grips with the fact that I'm falling in love with another guy, and then trying to get everybody else to understand it too. You can't blame Yugi for it; it's not his fault. He's never done anything except ask us to accept him as he is."

"I know," Téa said ashamedly. "That was really stupid of me. I just…don't know how to take all of this. I don't even know what I feel or what I think about it. But I _have_ been thinking." She glanced up as Tristan moved to serve them both, and Duke just sat listening and eating. "I've been friends with you guys too long to break up over this. The news may have taken me by surprise, but I don't want to lose our friendship over it. I just…" She gave Tristan a helpless look, "…want to understand."

"Funny," Duke said, lowering his chopsticks. "I was kind of thinking the same thing about you."

Téa prodded at her plate, keeping her gaze lowered. "I don't know why I freaked out. I wish I could explain it."

"Do you really believe those things you said?" Duke's eyes were hard, but not angry. "That we have some kind of sickness, and Yugi's the one spreading it?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head firmly. "I'm sorry I said that, I was wrong."

"You certainly were," Duke said. Tristan gave him a look but didn't interrupt him. "For starters, I leaned this way a long time before I met Yugi. I've been bisexual since I knew what sex was." He shrugged off Téa's shocked look. "You guys always saw me hitting on girls in school, but I hit on guys just as much. Just, not in full view of everyone. Boy, girl, it doesn't matter to me, I'll take anyone sexy."

Tristan quirked an eyebrow at him. "Then how'd you end up with me?"

"Hell if I know."

Téa giggled at that, and immediately clapped her hand over her mouth to hide it. "I didn't realize that," she said after collecting herself. "You had the 'ladies' man' reputation in school…"

"Well yeah…I wasn't going to let people find out about the rest." Duke made a face. "I knew what would have happened to me. I may not have a problem with who I am, but I'm not stupid. I know it's still not safe to go around flaunting it in public." He shared a wary look with Tristan. "And it's not just me. Bakura said he's been gay all his life, too."

"Really?" Téa blinked at him. "But…I thought he was just…shy, and effeminate. I didn't realize it meant anything."

"He is shy and effeminate," Duke acknowledged. "He also likes boys. The two are mutually exclusive." He thumbed toward his partner. "Tristan ought to be proof enough to you that you can't judge a book by its cover. There isn't anything that makes you gay, you just are, or you can at least accept it to a point. You can't look at someone and just know." He picked up his bowl and made to finish off his dinner. "Most of the time, anyway. There are some guys who just play into the stereotype, I've got nothing to say about that."

"Yugi's got nothing to do with this, Téa," Tristan added. "He doesn't look or act 'gay' any more than I do. You saw us at the park, right? Was there anything about me or Duke or Bakura that made you think, 'hm, he's acting kind of weird, he's not the same as I remember?' Before you found out, anyway."

"Well, no, but…"

"I know we messed up, in keeping it from you until now," he went on. "But you've got to understand. It's really hard. Duke has it easier than me, he admitted this about himself a long time ago. I'm still working to accept it. That makes it ten times harder to tell other people and ask them to accept it. It's not like I'm running around bragging that oh, I'm gay now, everybody deal with it." He poked at the rice on his plate. "I still don't think I am. I just happen to be in love with another guy."

Téa peered at him thoughtfully. Between bites, she asked, "What about Serenity?"

"Old news," Duke replied with a shrug. "Over and done with."

"It stopped being about Serenity a long time ago," Tristan sighed. "I'm over her."

"Does she know?"

"Yeah, we told her ourselves," Tristan nodded. "She came to visit Joey one weekend a couple months ago, and we decided to tell her. It was just after I moved in, here."

Téa made an uncomfortable face. "That's unfortunate, because the last time I talked to her, at Christmas, she told me she was hoping for a chance to go out with you, Tristan."

Both boys sat up with wide eyes. "She did?"

"Damn," Duke muttered. "No wonder she looked so shocked when we told her. She _did_ want you to go out with her and Joey and Mai, that night."

"Aw, man." Tristan shook his head. "I don't know what to say. It was already too late, I think – Christmas night was our first date. Sort of." He gave Duke a wry smile. "I was already kind of crushing on you, I think."

"I kind of sensed that," Duke smiled back. "Why do you think I hit on you?"

"So, Duke was the one who asked you," Téa repeated for confirmation.

They both nodded, but Duke was the one who explained. "I didn't ask him out because I wanted to have sex with him," he said bluntly. "I asked him out because I was starting to have feelings for him. I thought he was sweet and kind of cute, and the friendlier we got with each other, the more it seemed like a good idea." He set down his empty bowl and leaned his arms on the table to address Téa directly. "What you may not realize, Téa, is that I love Tristan. A lot. Enough to want to share my home with him. We're not with each other because we've decided we prefer men and gave up on women, it's only about the feelings we have for each other." His eyes darkened. "So when you said those things the other day, you didn't just hurt Yugi. You hurt all of us. You treated your friends like lepers. It's already hard enough bucking all of society, without having someone we care about treat us with the same kind of hatred."

"I don't hate you!" Téa insisted. "It's just…I don't understand. I'm sorry for hurting you, I really am. I didn't mean to. I just lashed out, whatever stupid things were going on in my head, it just all came out."

Duke nodded seriously. "I kind of guessed, but that didn't make it any better. It really bothered me, not so much that you insulted me, but that you hurt Yugi and Tristan. They've been your friends a lot longer than I've been in the picture, and I felt bad for them."

Téa stared down at her plate again. "You're a really sweet guy, Duke," she murmured. "Tristan must have seen that a lot sooner than I could."

Duke shot his partner an adoring smile. "Yeah, I think he did. He gave me a chance, and I'm glad he didn't turn me down." He sighed shortly. "Well, I hate to have to get up and run in the middle of this, but I really do need to get back downstairs. You guys go on and keep talking." He got up, taking his dishes with him, and leaned over to kiss Tristan on the cheek as he breezed past. "You did good. I take back everything I said about your cooking."

"Yeah, thanks," Tristan snorted, though with a smile. He watched Duke disappear into the kitchen and reemerge a second later, waving to them as he passed and vanished through the office door. Only then did Tristan return his attention to Téa, who was trying to eat in between all the talking. "You're right, he is a sweetheart," he confessed. "He just hides it under that smug act. He hasn't had it easy, growing up, he does it to keep people at a distance."

Téa glanced thoughtfully at the closed office door, and then back at her friend. "You've gotten to know him that well, have you?"

"There's a lot about Duke nobody knows except me," Tristan said with a nod. "Bet you didn't even know Devlin isn't his real last name. It's a pseudonym, for the business. Kind of like a stage name."

"Wow…no, I didn't know that." Téa gazed at him for a long moment, studying him. Tristan had always been the big, manly type among her group of friends, and was even more so now that he was twenty and a construction worker. The increase in muscle mass seemed so much more marked because she went six months to a year at a time between visits with him. To hear him expressing his care for Duke confused her all the more. "So…how long was it before you…knew?"

"What, that I liked him?" Tristan savored a bite and sucked on his chopsticks for a moment. "First time, actually. I was a little nervous about him hitting on me, because I never even thought about guys that way before, but…there was something already there. I kind of felt it before that night, but I didn't let myself accept it until he came to me, and from there it was just…full speed ahead." He shrugged. "To be fair, we didn't tell anybody else right away, either. We dated for a couple months, decided to see each other exclusively around Valentine's Day, and a couple weeks after that we finally told everybody."

Téa cocked her head curiously. "How did Joey take it?"

"He was a little weirded out at first, but he handled it just fine," Tristan said proudly. "He saw it the same way I did – that we've been saying all along that we accept Yugi and will back him up, so it was only logical that that would extend to me, too. Or anybody else for that matter. It really is easier to understand when you have a friend who's gay, and can see things from his perspective."

Téa shook her head slowly, sadly. "I think that's where it all went wrong, for me. I haven't been here so to me, you were still the same guys I knew in high school, with the same habits and dreams. I don't have any actual gay friends at school, the only ones I know are real jerks." Tristan raised an eyebrow, prompting her to explain. "They're on the extreme end of the stereotype," she complained. "They do drugs, and spend all night clubbing or going to bars and sleeping around, and are always bragging about it when we're supposed to be at rehearsals and stuff."

"So you thought, if the rest of us had 'turned gay,' that we were going to start acting like that?" Tristan said incredulously. Téa only nodded. He let out a long sigh. "Wow. I thought you knew us better than that, Téa."

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" she worried. "That's the only contact I've had with gay men…"

"No, it isn't," he said plainly. "You've been friends with Bakura for years, and Duke. They're perfectly nice guys who like to have fun and have responsible lives with school and work…and they happen to like sleeping with other men. Not to mention, Yugi's relationship with Yami was going on a lot longer than any of us knew," he added. "We're normal people, Téa. We're not like those guys at your school in New York, they're just one example of how you can live. I'm sure there's a ton of straight people who do drugs and sleep around just as badly, so it's not like their sexual preference makes them freaky party types."

Téa faced him squarely to ask him something that had been nagging at her all along. "You _are_ having sex with Duke, right?" He nodded, unashamedly. "How? I mean…how can you like it, if you always liked girls?"

"I don't know," Tristan answered honestly. "I just do. It's not bad. But Téa…it's not _about_ the sex." He leaned on the table to give his argument emphasis. "I'm not in this relationship for the sex, I love Duke. I've never felt the same way about anyone else, and I'm at the point where I don't care that he's a guy. He came to me, he said he wanted me, no one else ever said that to me before in my whole life." He lowered his eyes and grew serious. "A few months ago, one of his employees went off the deep end, when he found out Duke was dating me. Said it would look bad for the store or something. He had a couple of his friends break in one night and trash the place, spray-paint graffiti about fags…and they beat the crap out of Duke." Téa gasped sharply, but didn't stop him. "I spent the whole day here with him, taking care of him, until he finally made me go home and get some sleep. But I couldn't sleep, I laid awake all night thinking – worrying that they were going to come back and finish the job, and kill him, worrying that he was going to break up with me because he didn't want to see me get hurt like him. I couldn't do that, I wanted to stay with him, I refused to let something like that scare me away. And that was when I knew I really loved him – with all my heart. The sex really didn't matter."

"I didn't know," Téa breathed. "Is he all right?"

"Yeah, he's fine now," Tristan assured. "Everything's back to normal. But you see? I'm not like those people you know in New York. Neither is Yugi. Our relationships are about love the same way Joey and Mai's is. Duke and I have been through a lot together, way before this started. Dealing with friends and family accepting me isn't nearly as wild as being trapped in a virtual world or getting dragged into shadow games, but it's still a hard road, and I'm glad he's there with me for all of it."

Téa gave him a soft smile. "You really have changed, Tristan. For the better."

"Nah," Tristan demurred, "I'm still the same old Tristan you and Joey and Yugi hung around with. The only thing that's different is I'm older, and working some things out for myself."

"That's what I mean." She rested her elbows on the table and gazed at him for a moment. "You're different in a good way – you're thinking things through, making decisions for yourself even if they're hard. You're living with someone you love. Even if your heart is still you, that's enough of a change to be startling to someone who hasn't seen you in a while."

"I guess," Tristan shrugged. "I never really looked at it that way. People always change over time, you just never notice it because you're going through it so slowly and it doesn't feel like a change to you. It must seem that much more drastic to you because you're not here every single day with us anymore, like Yugi and Joey. A gradual evolution to them would be an obvious change to you."

"That's right," Téa nodded. "And I think that's why it bothered me so much. Not that I have anything against you personally, or against Duke or Yugi, just that…I was completely surprised. I haven't been able to be here to watch you slowly change."

"That's just the way life is," Tristan said honestly. "You're in New York chasing your dream, I'm not going to take that away from you. People move, and grow apart, friendships change, it's a fact of life. I wish you didn't have to be so far away sometimes, but you are, so we'll just have to deal with it. I'm sorry if we seem like strangers to you," he added more quietly. "It wasn't my intention. And I didn't intend to keep it a secret forever. I wanted to tell you, but things kept coming up, I kept getting distracted, then we thought, 'oh, she's going to be at Yugi's party, we'll tell her there,' but then the right moment never came up…"

"That's okay. I don't think there was any way to break this kind of news without shocking me just a little." Téa frowned to herself. "You didn't know that I was going to fly off the handle. I bet you expected me to accept it, just like everybody else. And I should have. I can't call myself your friend if I'm going to act like that when I find out your secrets."

"Yeah, I did kind of expect you to understand," Tristan said sadly. "You've always been the sweetest one in the group, always going on about friendship and stuff. Yugi was worried, but I thought you and he just had something personal going on between you that had nothing to do with me and Duke."

Téa winced. "Yeah, actually…I think that's what it is. It isn't that I'm disgusted with your choice or hate you, it's that…maybe I'm transferring some of that onto you. It wasn't right, I'm sorry."

"You and Yugi have to work that out yourselves. Meanwhile…" Tristan chanced a smile. "We're not all turning wacko on you. Some things about our lives may have changed, but inside, we're still the same guys you loved and miss while you're away at school. We've grown, but so have you. You're being changed by school and living in the States, as much as we're being changed by our lives and relationships. I think we all have to do better to keep in touch and talk to each other, to share our lives even if we're so far apart. Then you don't have to be afraid of us changing on you when you're not looking."

"Yeah." Téa quieted for a bit, concentrating on finishing her dinner, which was actually quite good. After a bit, mulling it over, she set aside her plate and fixed Tristan with a peaceful look. "I guess I've just been clinging to the way things used to be in high school, because New York and school are so different. I come home in the hopes of finding all the old, familiar things to comfort me, but they're gone. Even the arcade we all used to go to is closed. You guys have grown and moved on, and I have too, but some part of me wishes it was all like it used to be."

"One thing is," Tristan reasoned. "The most important thing: that we love you, and we're all friends. That'll never change, unless you want to say farewell over this little thing."

"I don't," Téa said strongly. "I want to still be friends. I want to know every little thing that's happening in your lives, even if I'm not here to go through it with you."

"Email works both ways," Tristan grinned. "I know school keeps you busy, probably more so than Joey and I know he gets real busy. But drop us a note sometime, catch up. We want to share in your life, too, we want to know that you're succeeding in dance school and going to be a big, famous performer on Broadway or Hollywood or something. We're gonna be the guys who can go 'we knew her when. '"

Téa nodded, biting her lip to quell the rush of tears to her eyes. "I want that."

They finished up dinner and Téa gave her old friend a huge hug on her way out the door, asking him to pass along a message to Duke as well when he got off work later. "I wish you guys all the happiness in the world," she said, clinging to Tristan's shoulders. "I really do."

Tristan let her go and smiled. "Thanks, Téa. That means a lot to me."

"I'm sorry I have to run, but I have one more important errand to take care of tonight." Téa smiled on her way out the door. "Something I can't leave undone for another day…"

Yugi heard the jingle of the door to the game shop and looked up from the inventory list he had been perusing, his eyes going wide. "Téa!"

Téa stood in the doorway of Kame game shop, in the same demure posture, as she had greeted Duke, clutching her purse in front of her with both hands. If possible, she looked even more timid and afraid. "Hi, Yugi," she said quietly. "Is this a bad time?"

"No, it's okay. It's kind of slow tonight." Yugi set down the list and came around the counter to welcome her in. "What's up?"

Téa bowed her head so low that he couldn't see her eyes. "I wanted to say I'm sorry," she murmured, "for everything. Everything I said at your party, and at Christmas. I always thought of myself as the perfect friend, but I've been horrible to you, for no other reason than I'm jealous and I don't understand your preference. It's no excuse, and I apologize." She bowed slightly. "I hope you can forgive me."

Yugi came closer, but stopped an arm's length away, unsure. "Of course I forgive you," he said softly. "You're my friend, Téa, and never stopped being my friend. I just don't understand why you would say those things to me."

Téa lifted her head and bravely sniffled back her emotions. "I just came from Tristan's," she explained. "We had a long talk, and…I think I'm starting to understand. I know it's not your fault, you are just the way you are and you haven't corrupted anybody else. I don't hate Tristan and Duke, or anybody else, I just took out my anger on them because it was easier than admitting that it scared me, to see all of you having these new lives and not letting me in on it." She turned slightly away from him. "But more than that…I was jealous and angry because of you and the pharaoh, and I shouldn't be. It wasn't fair of me to blame you, you didn't do anything except be yourself."

A very slight smile found its way to Yugi's face. "So, you're admitting it, now. You're jealous."

"It's so stupid," Téa complained. "I'm jealous of you, not him."

"What?" Yugi's eyes shot wide. "Me? I don't get it…"

"The pharaoh is the one I always had the crush on," Téa sheepishly confessed. "But I could never say anything because he was just a spirit, he lived inside you, so I could never do anything with him without technically doing it with you. But then, you came out with this ritual, so he could have his own body and exist in the world again – but instead of it being my chance to get closer to him, it dashed all hope because he already loved you and wanted to be with _you_."

Yugi clapped a hand to his forehead and reeled back. "I had no idea…"

"I'm sorry it happened the way it did, Yugi," Téa went on, finally able to get it all off her chest. "I know the ritual is just a happy accident, and you fell in love with him way before that, it was just a convenient excuse. I couldn't have him, so I got jealous of people trying to be with you, too, and I completely lost my head over the idea of you two being together. I've been hoping, all this time, while I was away at school, that you would miss me and decide that you didn't want a spirit for a boyfriend when you could pine after me, but…I was totally stupid. You were living your life the way you wanted, while I expected you to be waiting for me. It wasn't fair of me, and it led to all of the rest of this. If you don't want to be friends anymore, I'll understand," she added morosely. "I was awful. I wouldn't want a friend like me, either."

"Don't be silly." Yugi came closer and set a hand on her arm, getting her to look at him. "I know it must be hard for you. I'm sorry if I was ever insensitive to it…"

"No," Téa said with a shake of her head. "It's not you, Yugi. Don't apologize, you've never done anything wrong. It was all me. I just…don't want to go away for the summer, and then back to school in the fall, with this still between us. I want to be able to let go and accept you for who you are. And the pharaoh," she added with a tentative smile. "I guess I don't know him as well as I thought I did. I hardly know him at all, even though he's always been there with you."

Yugi picked up the Puzzle in one hand and stroked his thumb over the Eye. "He wants to talk to you," he said after a moment's pause. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah." Téa watched, feeling a twang of familiar comfort in her heart, as the Eye flashed for a moment and then Yami himself was looking at her through Yugi's eyes. Though they were becoming ever more similar, she could still tell it was him. "Hi, pharaoh. Yami," she corrected herself.

Yami smiled faintly. "Téa," he acknowledged in his low purr of a voice. "I'm glad you came here to speak with Yugi."

"I wanted to speak to both of you," she said. "I owe you just as much of an apology as him." She averted her eyes to the floor. "You heard what I said, about…me liking you…"

"Yes." Yami set his hand on her arm, in the same way Yugi had. "I'm flattered, but I don't think it could have been the way you wished. I have loved Yugi for a very long time, and you have always been just a friend to us. I know he had a crush on you, when I first joined with him, but somewhere along the way that fell by the wayside."

"I know," she sighed, "and I never gave him a chance, either. Until after he was already with you, and I started to get jealous of anyone else wanting to be close to either of you. The first time I saw you two together…" She looked hurt. "It turned my world upside down. Yugi asked me to understand, and to accept him, but while I said I would, I never did. Instead of thinking it over, and letting him go, I clung to the idea of him coming to his senses and wanting a real person instead. But that wasn't fair to you." She gave him an awkward look. "You are a real person."

Yami sighed deeply. "Téa," he began patiently, "I love Yugi to the depth of my soul. He is the love of a lifetime…the love of two lifetimes, for me. I don't know what our future holds, but I will stay with him until the end. All we have ever wanted from our friends is acceptance, that we are meant for each other and have each other's best interests at heart. While I thought you were concerned that I was leading him astray, I see now that you were worried about him corrupting me." A smile curved his lips. "I assure you, that isn't the case at all. Yugi is the light of my soul, I would do anything for him. I will always protect him, whether from the shadows or the slings and arrows of the world."

"I know you will," Téa nodded. "I always trusted you with Yugi, because you were stronger and braver and could take care of him. I guess now…it's no different. Loving each other should make your bond stronger, not weaker."

"It does," Yami nodded. "While we may be in a time of peace, with no enemies breathing down our necks, I am no less protective of him. It is a joy to me to watch him grow and become a strong young man, pure of heart and brave in his own right. He makes me proud every day, to say that I am his partner, and that I love him."

"I'm starting to see that." Téa reached to take one of his hands, the left one – and turn it to see the ring on his finger. "I've only gotten tiny peeks into your life together, while you've lived two years and then some without me. It's hard for me to let go and move on, but it's time I did. I want you two to take good care of each other, and don't let anyone come between you. You need each other."

"Thank you, Téa." The pharaoh gave her a wise smile, and then vanished back inside the Puzzle.

Yugi leaped to hug Téa a second later. "Thank you so much, Téa," he murmured in her ear. "It hurt so much to think that you were mad at me and didn't want to talk to me. I've always wanted to tell you everything about me and Yami, so you could understand what he means to me."

Téa squeezed him hard. "I'm so sorry I made you cry on your birthday."

Yugi chuckled a little as he let her go. "Well, on the plus side, it got me lots of sympathy cuddling."

"I bet," Téa laughed.

"Do you want to come in, sit?" Yugi offered, turning back toward the counter of the empty store. "Talk for a bit?"

"Sorry, I spent so long at Tristan's, I really need to get home," she sighed. "But I want to talk more. I'll have breaks here and there in my performance schedule, I'll be able to come home and hang out. And I'll be back here for my birthday, in August." She grinned. "My parents are really upset that I spent all of last summer in the States, they want to make up for it with a big party."

"Well, count us in!" Yugi said happily. "Anytime you can fit us in, I'm always here. A little busy with work, but Grandpa and I swap shifts all the time. We'll hang out. And email, once you go back to school."

"Yeah," Téa nodded briskly, "we will. I promise."

"Great!" Yugi smiled softly at her. "Have fun in Osaka. Do your best."

"I will." Téa turned and gave him a little wave, and then she was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 4

With a spectacular explosion of pixels Shandy's last monster evaporated off the field, taking the rest of her life points with it. She cursed Kaiba roundly, as per tradition, but then laughed it off. "That's seven in a row," she exclaimed incredulously. "I think by now I can safely say, my beating you in the world tournament was the fluke. You're a monster. No matter which deck I throw at you, or how much I work to keep your damn dragons off the field, you still kick my ass."

Kaiba calmly shuffled his graveyard back into his deck and set it aside on the desk. "There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I could beat you. You had a lucky break at the tournament, that was all."

"Guess so." The young Brit sighed comically into the microphone of her wireless duel disk. "And here I thought I was gonna get bragging rights over the great Seto Kaiba. No such luck. You're making my record go down, mate. I need to duel more pathetic newbies to bring my average back up."

"You could always stop trying to prove yourself to me," Kaiba flippantly suggested.

"Eh," Shandy said unconcernedly, "you're fun to pick on. All swagger and bravado, until I start taking the lead, then you get all pissy. It's kinda funny."

Kaiba scowled to himself. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Her bright laugh sounded in his ear. "Oh, Kaiba. So sharp but so clueless sometimes. Ah, but that was a fun one. Thanks for the duel. I'll be hunting for that card you played on me, the one that backfired all my attacks on me. I want to add that to my deck."

"Good luck," Kaiba snorted, wandering over in front of the windows to look out on the dark landscape of his estate. "It's a super-rare." His voice lowered, as he was about to give a rare compliment. "That card you won in the tournament. That works pretty well for you."

"Yeah, I know," Shandy said happily. "It fits in right with the Union deck. I wasn't sure, but I've played it three or four times now and it always comes in handy. I'll have to thank Mr. Pegasus for it, if I ever enter a tournament again." Her voice warmed to a smile. "Don't suppose I'll get to see you at one, will I?"

Kaiba stood motionless, arms folded, eyes lowered. "I'm not planning to throw one anytime soon, if that's what you're asking."

"You, Pegs, either way. Somebody's got to throw a world-class tournament more than once every other year." She hummed under her breath. "All I can get is tabletop action at conventions, and let me tell you – the last thing I want to do on my weekend off is throw in with all the sweaty geeks in the region."

"So the wireless duel disk is a good thing for you," Kaiba shrewdly noticed.

"Sure is. Keeps me from getting bored." Shandy brightened up again. "And lets me make new friends! If somebody would have told me, half a year ago when I bought it, that I'd strike up a chat buddy out of Seto Kaiba, I'd have thought they were off their nut. It's been fun."

Kaiba studiously directed his gaze out the window, trying not to be flustered by her comments and flirtations. They had only dueled a total of six times in the past two months, counting tonight, and only once prior, so he didn't consider it anything remotely resembling a friendship. Not when his only thought was on winning and keeping his record intact. "I will admit," he said patiently, "you are one of few duelists my caliber on the network. Which is why I don't use it to duel, I prefer to keep my battles to tournaments." He turned away from the window and stalked across the study. "I need to go. I have work to do."

"It's fucking midnight where you are," Shandy noted. "You're just starting to work?"

"I took a break," Kaiba explained. "And now I'm done. I have an important project that isn't progressing very well."

"Aw, doesn't sound like fun," Shandy cajoled. "All day at the office, and all night at home? Poor Kaiba needs more playtime."

He stifled the smile that threatened to break across his face. "I wouldn't be working on it if my pathetic staff knew what the hell they were doing."

"Ah," the young woman said knowingly. "Cleaning up from others' mistakes, as usual. You do have it rough. What's the project? Do I get to know?" The flirt crept back into her voice. "Or is it a big KaibaCorp secret, hmm?"

"That's exactly what it is," Kaiba retorted shortly. "So no, you don't get to know. Suffice it to say, I'm going to be at this a while."

"Don't have anyone else you can pass it off to? Bummer." Shandy giggled slightly. "Load of rot that is. You should dig up some underling and pawn it off on him, and then blame him when it all goes out of control."

"Not when a major KaibaCorp property is at stake." Kaiba sighed into his headset. "I mean it, I need to go."

"Duel you again sometime?" Shandy pleaded.

Kaiba sighed again, standing in front of his computer and staring at the names on his watchlist. Only Shandy's was highlighted. "If I'm around," he tacitly agreed.

"I'll be watching. Nighties," Shandy sang at him, and then disconnected.

Kaiba pulled the headset off and then his duel disk, setting them aside and dropping heavily into his desk chair. It was a good thing he had the excuse of needing to work, or Shandy might have kept him idly chatting far longer than he needed to. She had a disarming way of getting through to him, and always laughing it away whenever he got rankled or irritable. It was getting to the point where he didn't know which enticed him more – the thought of smacking her down again to his personal satisfaction, or the chance to listen to her cheery voice and lilting accent in his ear for a little while. He had assured his superiority over her seven times over, why was he still dueling her? At least they weren't crossing paths quite as often, this was the first night in three weeks he had run into her. The last time had been the night he had chatted with Yugi about his birthday. The reminder of that moment, and all that followed, sobered him briefly, chasing away all the pleasantry of having defeated Shandy soundly one more time. Neither topic was one he particularly wanted to spend a lot of brainpower on, so he shook it all off and stretched out his hands to his computer, logging completely out of the wireless network and pulling up his files instead.

Seto went to bed after two a. m., but hadn't been there very long before a thought made him sit up sharply, blinking in the darkness. He had been trying to stop thinking about his project, trying to divert his mind elsewhere so it would quiet down and go to sleep, but a flash of inspiration had just struck. He knew how to solve his problem, and it all had to do with something casual Shandy had said. But it was a risky idea, one he wasn't sure he wanted to entertain. It might turn out to be just as stupid as the problem itself. But it was a potential solution, the only one available to him. Taking a deep breath, he laid back down and gathered the sheet around him, rolling over to go back to sleep. He needed to think about it some more, but not tonight.

The hubbub over Yugi's birthday was finally quieting down, allowing things to return to normal. Inheriting half the game shop hadn't changed his routine any, he and his grandfather still alternated shifts in a pattern beneficial to them both. Joey was off of school for the summer but still had his menial job, which kept him busy in the mornings or afternoons but allowed him plenty of time to hang out with Yugi, take his fiancé on dates, and such. Collectively, the gang talked about finding some time later in July to coordinate going down to Osaka to catch Téa in a festival performance or something, but busy work schedules conflicted at the moment. It didn't make much difference to Yugi, he was just glad that the rift between him and Téa was finally on its way to healing. It left him in a rather chipper mood as he went about his work, checking in stock and minding the store as usual.

The early days of July brought sunshine and summer heat to Domino, sending kids to the beach, the park, or anywhere with air conditioning, like arcades and game shops. Yugi didn't mind working days at this time of the year, he got to stay downstairs where it was cooler and thus had his evenings free to hang out with his friends. He had just seen a cluster of kids out the door when the phone rang, necessitating a dash across the store to snatch it up with a bright, "Kame game shop…"

"Yugi," a curt voice answered. "Just the person I wanted to talk to."

Yugi blinked in surprise. "Kaiba?"

"Do you have a moment?"

"Yeah, sure…" Yugi glanced to make sure no one else had come in while he wasn't looking, and sidled around the counter to lean on the wall. "What is it?"

"I have a business proposal for you." Kaiba paused and then added darkly, "no, it has nothing to do with your store. Would you be available to come down to my office sometime this week to discuss it?"

"Um…just a second." Yugi turned to glance at the calendar, becoming rather puzzled about the nature of this phone call. "I'm working days until Thursday…but I can swap shifts with my grandpa if that doesn't work for you."

"Thursday," Kaiba repeated. There was a sound of keys tapping for a moment, and then he came back with, "Thursday is fine. I have an opening around eleven o'clock."

"Okay. Eleven on Thursday," Yugi repeated, snatching up a pen. "I can be there."

"Don't be late. I keep a very tight schedule and I don't want to waste any of my time." Kaiba gave a snort of derision under his breath. "And make sure you dress appropriately for a business meeting. Wear something professional, not your usual goth look."

"Fine," Yugi agreed, beginning to smile at the note of irritation in Kaiba's voice. "What's this all about? What kind of business meeting is this going to be?"

"I'll tell you when you come for the meeting," Kaiba said crisply. "It isn't anything you need to be worried about, so relax. I'm not hunting for your game shop again, or anything like that. I intend to discuss business and nothing else."

Yugi nodded with the phone by his ear. "All right. Fine, be that way. I'll be there on time."

"Good. And make yourself respectable before you show up." With a click, Kaiba was finished.

Yugi hung up the phone and then stared at it, his mind racing. What in the world could Kaiba want from him? Business? What kind of business? He glanced aside as he became aware of Yami's presence hovering, his own mind just as full of questions. "What do you think?" he asked the pharaoh's spirit.

"I'm not sure," Yami mused. In Yugi's mind's eye, he was standing there thoughtfully resting his chin on his fist. "It's an unusual request, but I heard no deceit or danger in his voice."

"No, he sounded pretty normal," Yugi agreed, "right down to insulting my style of clothing."

Yami smirked. "Don't take it personally."

"Oh, I won't. That's just Kaiba." Yugi shrugged and turned to write in the appointment time on the calendar, along with the reminder, "KC" for his own amusement. "I guess we'll find out in a couple of days, but I can't imagine what kind of business he would want to discuss with me, if it doesn't involve the store." He glanced over his shoulder to his vision again. "Do you trust him to be honest with me?"

"I do." Yami faced him with a solemn look. "He has chosen to let his guard down for brief moments around you, after the tournament and again at your party. To that end, I would expect he really does mean 'business' and not some underhanded ploy to harm you in any way."

"Yeah, there is that." Yugi gave his partner a smile. "And I feel like I do still owe him something for giving me such a nice deal. Maybe he's just calling it in."

"Could be."

Joey, however, did not have such nice things to say about Kaiba when Yugi told him about the meeting, later that night when they got together for food. "You can't be serious, Yug," he exclaimed, leaning on the table. They were both broke and short on time, so they had just gone out for fast food. "This is Kaiba we're talkin' about, here. He doesn't do anything nice, no matter what kind of blackmail you got on him."

"I don't have any blackmail on him," Yugi insisted. "And I don't know that this is necessarily going to be 'nice,' he said business. And he usually means it."

"I don't know," Joey said warily. "Don't forget, it was only a year ago that he spent an awful lot of time and energy trying to buy out both you and Duke. And he hasn't changed all that much since he got whipped in the tournament."

"But he told me on the way back, that part of his plan is over," Yugi patiently explained, while Joey sipped at his soda. "The KC game shop is open now, and I haven't heard a peep from him about it since the game expo last year. I'm inclined to believe him when he says it's nothing bad."

"I'm not," Joey said bluntly. "I won't ever stop being suspicious of him. Kaiba doesn't do things for people unless he has a selfish motive behind it." He peered at his best friend across the table. "What does Yami think about it?"

Yugi gave him a smug look. "He's on my side," he reported with some glee. "He heard what Kaiba said on the phone, and doesn't think it's dangerous."

Joey made a face and grumbled about that. "Well, I guess there's no arguing with a pharaoh," he muttered. "Just keep your eyes open. Don't let him threaten you into anything. Be a good businessman and listen to his pitch, and then get the hell out of there." He did his best to look thoughtful. "Could be that now that you own half the game shop, he thinks he's got a better shot at you."

"No way," Yugi scoffed. "You don't know him like I do, Joey."

Joey laughed at that. "You don't know him hardly at all, what are you talking about?"

"I just want to give him a chance," Yugi said petulantly, withdrawing and taking his soda to him, nibbling on the end of the straw.

His friend gave him a long, appraising look and sighed reluctantly. "Yeah, I know," he said. "Just because I don't like him doesn't mean you're wrong about him. I only want you to be careful, all right?"

"I will," Yugi promised. "I won't get in over my head."

Grandpa Muto didn't have a much better outlook on the situation, though his warning was phrased a little more tactfully. "We gave you part ownership just in case of times like this," he reminded his grandson the next day in the shop – the day before the meeting. "Kaiba may think you're an easier target now, but it will actually be much harder for him to buy us out or threaten you."

"I don't think that's what he's after, Grandpa," Yugi insisted as he stocked Duel Monsters cards. "I know it's Kaiba, and therefore he's got something planned, and is probably calling in a favor I owe him. But I don't think it has anything to do with the store." He glanced over his shoulder at his grandfather behind the counter. "You saw him at my party, a couple weeks ago. He was perfectly normal, the only odd thing was that he was being so nice to me. I kind of figured, he would want something out of me in return, and now we're going to find out what it is."

"Hm, yes, you have a point," Grandpa concurred. "Just be careful. Don't feel that you owe him something for the party, and agree to do something you shouldn't."

"I won't," Yugi assured. "I have Yami with me, he can always take over if it looks like Kaiba is trying to bully me or something. I'm not afraid of him, but Yami's better at standing up to him."

Grandpa nodded and smiled. "As long as Yami trusts him, and doesn't think there'll be trouble, I'm sure you can handle it together. I have faith in you, Yugi. I just have to worry – it's my right as a grandpa."

Yugi giggled at that. "Fine, fine. Yami says that if worst comes to worst, we'll call him out, challenge him to a duel. That'll at least distract him for a few minutes."

That gave Grandpa Muto cause for a hearty laugh. "True! Oh, I'd like to see that. Just to see the look on his face."

Yugi grinned as well, sharing the sentiment. Inside his heart, his partner chuckled. "In that case, let's not forget our deck."

Thursday finally arrived, and found Yugi nervously tossing through the clothes in his closet, searching for something "respectable" as per Kaiba's request and coming up empty. He knew he had to have some kind of button-down shirt in there somewhere, he hadn't thrown out all of his school clothes upon graduating. It wasn't that he took Kaiba's jibe at his style of dress seriously, but he was very conscious of the fact he was going to KaibaCorp for a supposed business meeting – he may as well dress the part, so as not to startle the regular staffers. At last, he came upon a blue short-sleeved shirt somewhere in the deepest recesses of the closet, and rushed into the other room to iron it quickly and throw it over his black tank top. The Millennium Puzzle refused to be hidden, so he left it dangling on its heavy chain outside the blue shirt, and only buttoned it most of the way to hide his tank top. Instead of his favorite black leather collar, he dug out the silver necklace Bakura had given him for his birthday and clasped it around his neck. But for the Puzzle, he looked downright yuppie, he thought to himself upon brief inspection in the mirror. Yami, to his credit, said nothing throughout the search and discovery mission, contenting himself to watch in amusement as Yugi cleaned himself up for the visit. He remained silent until they were well on their way, and Yugi had a few moments of distraction while walking up the sidewalk towards the imposing skyscraper. "So…what do you suppose we'll find when we get there?" the pharaoh's spirit wondered.

Yugi shifted his eyes to the façade of the KaibaCorp building ahead, with the brightly-colored "KC" towering over downtown. "I have no idea," he answered internally, leaving their conversation as mental only so as not to be caught talking out loud to himself. "I've gone over all kinds of possibilities in my mind and I can't come up with a single thing that makes sense. His company is the one thing Kaiba would _never_ want me intruding on, he'd rather help me win a duel than consider me a business partner."

"And yet, here we are." Yami mused deeply on it for a moment. "I suppose all we can do is hear him out."

"I know, I'm just as curious as you are," Yugi said with a kind mental chuckle. "Well, we're almost there. We'll find out soon enough."

The enormous glass-fronted lobby of KaibaCorp gleamed with midday sunshine, which left patches of warmth on the otherwise cold, sterile floor and the big desk right up front where three receptionists worked as a team to handle all the incoming calls to the company. With practiced efficiency, one of them transferred a call and immediately looked up and smiled at Yugi as he hesitantly came up to the desk. "Welcome to Kaiba Corporation! Is there something I can do for you?"

Yugi glanced at her, startled, and smiled faintly. "Um…yeah, I'm here to see Kaiba. Oh…I have an appointment."

Her fingers flew over the keyboard in front of her. "Yugi Muto?" she read off the screen, her glance flicking back up to him. "Oh, silly me, of course it's you. Yes, you're on Mr. Kaiba's schedule. You'll have to take the tower elevator up to the penthouse floor, over there…" She gestured smoothly to a couple of elevators standing on the far side of the lobby, as opposed to a larger bank much closer by. "I will inform Mr. Kaiba's secretary that you're here, she'll see you in when you arrive."

"Um, okay. Thanks." Yugi bobbed his head politely toward her and headed off in the direction she had indicated, punching the button and hoping he didn't have to stand there feeling like an idiot in the huge, empty lobby for very long. But the elevator swiftly came to rescue him, and he found as he entered that there were only a few select floors at the top of the building it would take him to. He hit the button for the penthouse floor, noting that it was second only to the roof, and snorted to himself. _Figures_. There was an unpleasant lurch as the elevator sped upward, but it leveled off shortly and let him out at the end of a wide, elegant hallway paneled in wood and metal. There was only one desk in it, at the far end, where the secretary stood guard over the innermost private offices. Yugi made his way to it and only got out a "hello" when the secretary greeted him by name and told him to have a seat in one of the chairs across the hallway until Mr. Kaiba could meet with him. He felt even smaller and sillier sitting there, completely out of his element and considering how much he didn't belong there. Everything around him was so smooth and sleek and professional, elegant but not quite in that way that was meant for banks and hotels. It was all designed to show off not only that KaibaCorp was a multi-billionaire company, but that it got to be so by the whims of its gamer president alone. At last, Yugi heard the chime of the intercom and the secretary's response, and a second later he was passing through the double doors into Kaiba's top-level office.

In all the years they had known each other, and battled each other, Yugi had never been here before. The inner sanctum, Seto Kaiba's private office. Naturally, it was huge, and furnished as if to allow the president of the company to hole up in there for days or weeks working on projects. Besides the giant desk set along the windows so as to always silhouette Kaiba with dramatic backlight when he was sitting at it, there was a leather couch and several chairs, an entertainment center with a plasma screen set into the wall, and even a few potted plants curiously enough. Yugi realized much later that the plants were plastic. Most of his attention immediately upon entering was directed to Kaiba himself, who stood behind his desk as if he had just gotten up from the cushy chair where he had been working. He wore a completely blank expression, neither welcoming nor antagonistic, as he waited for the door to close behind Yugi. "You're on time," he said curtly.

"Of course." Yugi's curiosity ramped itself up tenfold now that he was actually facing his rival. "What's this all about, Kaiba? You've never had me come to your office before."

"I'll explain everything," Kaiba said with calm restraint. "Sit down."

Yugi shrugged and came around the end of the squishy leather couch, perching himself on the edge of it and clasping his hands on his knee as he waited to hear this explanation. Seto Kaiba swished around his desk in his big purple coat and came to stand in front of it, in order to give audience to Yugi like an overbearing principal lecturing a wayward student. "Before I say anything, let me preface with a word of warning," he said with his usual Kaiba sharpness. "I hate having to come to you for assistance with anything, especially anything having to do with KaibaCorp. This goes against every fiber of my being, but the truth is, you're a convenient outlet. As much as I hate to admit it, on this one matter, it would be a waste of my time and money to consult anyone else."

Such a declaration was not entirely unexpected; Yugi's expression did not change as he sat and listened. "Fine," he conceded in a soft voice. "I understand, Kaiba. You don't like having me around, I get it. So just tell me what you want, already."

For a fleeting second, Kaiba considered that he might have hurt Yugi's feelings somehow, judging by his flat response. But then it was gone, and he was patiently explaining the situation in his most businesslike manner. "You're rather familiar with my virtual game, 'Legendary Heroes,'" he began, folding his arms sternly over his chest. "Your beta test at the theme park last month was the last step in getting it fully operational. Now that it's ready, I've decided to take it in a new direction, a new venue for KaibaCorp to explore in the gaming world. I want to develop it as a console game, for people to play at home."

That got Yugi's attention, he perked up in astonishment. "A Legendary Heroes video game? That would be awesome!"

"That's kind of what I was hoping," Kaiba said aloofly. "But I've run into a bit of a problem. My development department is apparently at a complete loss over how to adapt the virtual game to a home console. The software and game engines I wrote for Legendary Heroes apparently are light years ahead of what passes for good gaming on the three main consoles these days, so the dumbing-down process is going very slow." He allowed a displeased growl to cross his lips. "It's getting to the point where I'm having to hold hands through every step of the process, and that's pissing me off. I have a company to run, I can't be single-handedly responsible for rewriting the game engine and creating content for the game. No one in development seems to have any sort of video-gaming background, they keep giving me blank looks when I tell them to do something about it."

"Really?" Yugi blinked in wonder. "I thought you hired the best gaming minds available. Nobody in your company has done any kind of video games?"

"Not since the next generation consoles came out," Kaiba grumbled. He lowered his arms and began to pace along the length of his desk. "KaibaCorp was always invested in other types of gaming, to humble ourselves to put out some kind of game software to play on a home console was like taking a step back into the dark ages. But now, some of their technology is catching up, and when I mentioned to some investors that I was considering this move to console gaming with an established title, they all sat up and took notice." He paused in his pacing and shot Yugi a sidelong sneer. "I have all kinds of software companies clamoring for a piece of KaibaCorp's glory, practically knocking down my door in their enthusiasm to be the one I choose to release 'Legendary Heroes' as a video game." The sneer vanished and his sullen glare returned, and after a moment he resumed pacing. "But that's where it gets sticky. With all this interest in the project, I need to kick it into high gear, but my development teams can't keep up. They have no idea where to even start."

Yugi leaned forward in his seat in interest, resting his elbows on his knees. "So where do I come in? What could I possibly have to do with Legendary Heroes or video games? Other than I've played both."

Kaiba paused at the apex of his pacing, resting his fist on the corner of his desk. "You have as much experience as I do playing the game," he said heavily, "but none of my personal attachments to it. As much as I'd like to consider myself intelligent and fair, I've been working on it far too long to have any kind of objective view. After all, this has been my personal pet project for many years. Almost as long as you've known me." He turned and leaned on the edge of his desk so he could face Yugi, his expression dead serious. "I don't need your help on it. The game is already written, it already exists in a certain form. I've done all I can to convert it to a console game, I've reached my limits. What it needs now is a good test run from someone who is familiar with the game, and understands what it's all about, someone who also plays other video games and can give me a completely objective viewpoint." He sighed tiredly. "And like I said…trying to find someone who isn't you to game-test it would be a waste of time and money, when you already exist. I can put aside our rivalry for a short time for the sake of my game and my company."

Yugi sat back with a deep breath, finally allowing himself to settle into the couch. "Wow," he said after a short silence. "I had no idea. Well…what would you want me to do? How long would it take?"

Kaiba closed his eyes briefly. "Don't worry, you'll be paid for your time."

"I'm not worried about that," Yugi said honestly with a shake of his head. "I just don't know what you think I can do that's better than all your development people."

"Consider it a consulting position," Kaiba said gruffly. "I don't expect to need you very much, a couple of meetings tops. You're to game-test the version we're preparing right now, and give me an honest, objective review. From there, we'll see what happens."

"Just a couple of meetings," Yugi repeated. "I guess I can handle that. I didn't want to agree to anything that would take me away from the store for days or weeks on end…Grandpa needs me."

Kaiba snorted. "It's nothing that serious," he retorted. "I just want to get this game out, and have it not bring shame and ruin to the KaibaCorp name in the process. I want it to get out quickly, but I also want it to be good if it's going to have my name on it. I won't even tell you what I think of it before I let you test it, I want a clean, unbiased opinion. If it's trash, I want to know that now before it gets pressed and released to the public."

"All right," Yugi said with a little nod. "In that case…sure. I'd be glad to help you out, Kaiba."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "You don't have to sound so smug about it."

"I'm not!" Yugi countered. "I know this bothers you, having to ask for my help, but you're still doing it. I appreciate that, really. I'll do my best. It sounds like a really cool idea, I'd love to be able to play Legendary Heroes at home!"

Kaiba nodded very slightly. "Mokuba gave me your report from that day at the theme park. It sounds like you enjoyed the game."

"Oh, yeah, totally," Yugi gushed. "It was as much fun watching the others smack each other around as it was for me and Yami and Joey to be able to play as a team. I can see why you want to put the game out on Playstation, or whatever – that would be the next logical step, wouldn't it?"

"That's what I want." Kaiba turned on his heel and went back around his desk to his computer. "Fine, then let's get some details worked out. I will pay you a consulting fee for every meeting you're called to…"

Yugi got up from the couch and went to the front of the desk, leaning against it to see the computer and whatever Kaiba was about to type. But before the company president could even sit down, much less finish his sentence, the entire building began to shake around them. Both young men started, looking up and around them. The shaking didn't stop after a second, it continued to grow in intensity. They realized at the same time what it was, though Yugi was the one who declared it out loud: "Earthquake!"

All across the city, there wasn't a single person who didn't immediately know what was happening. Far from a minor temblor of the sort that occasionally rattled bookshelves in the middle of the night but rarely even woke people up, the earthquake rippled across Domino with a force no one there had witnessed in decades. As seconds ticked by, panic began to spread through shops, schools, streets, and offices. No one was in Kame game shop at the moment except Grandpa Muto, so he ran for the storage room doorway and cringed at the sound of the glass display cases rattling dangerously. In Mokuba's school, girls started screaming and people leaped out of their desks, while the teacher waved his arms and tried to get them to remember their earthquake drills. Mokuba just slid out of his chair and dropped under his desk, hunkering down with every intention of not letting himself get as scared as everyone else, trying to ignore the screaming girls and the crashing of things falling off the walls. Duke Devlin ran through his store directing customers to safety, lest any of them be hurt by falling displays. Inside Kaiba's office, the two young men stood their ground for a moment, not sure whether to run for safety or stay where they were. The building went from trembling to swaying, finally prompting Kaiba to action. He grabbed Yugi roughly by the arm and dragged him along, heading for the door, even as the wall of windows behind the desk shattered, spraying both of them with shards of glass. Yugi raised an arm to shield himself, feeling small stings as the glass raked across his skin. Kaiba suddenly stopped short, causing Yugi to run into him, as the distant rumbling of the earthquake was drowned out by a much nearer and larger destructive noise. They were mere feet away when the doors suddenly disappeared in a shower of debris, as the ceiling collapsed in on them. Recoiling, Kaiba threw his left arm up to protect his head, but he was a split second too late. The entire building shuddered as girders supporting the rooftop helipad snapped and buckled, and a good part of that support system plunged down into the penthouse-level offices. Debris caught Kaiba directly, throwing him backwards into Yugi and both of them down onto the floor. As if to add insult to injury, a chunk of plaster fell straight down out of the mangled ceiling and cracked across Kaiba's head, knocking him out cold. He fell limp in Yugi's arms, blood on his temple. Yugi wrestled himself to a seat and saw what had happened, giving a startled cry. Things were still falling down around them; small trinkets and objects crashed out of the entertainment console, the phone jostled off the desk, even the potted plants fell over and rolled around on the floor. Yugi gritted his teeth and threw himself over Kaiba's unconscious form, determined to protect him from being struck by anything else. Even as he did so, the Eye of the Puzzle flashed, and he could feel a warmth stealing through his body and bursting outwards from him. Yami was aware of everything happening, and brought out one shadow power he knew how to use almost without thinking, projecting a protective barrier around Yugi and Kaiba which could not be penetrated by falling debris. The Puzzle blazed brilliantly with his inner power, leaving Yugi able to just close his eyes and cling to Kaiba, desperately hoping the earthquake would soon end. He could feel Yami's presence like a hot wind rushing around him, and knew that with him there, they would be safe, but the shaking had to stop. Finally, after what felt like forever, the earth's tremor ended, though it took a bit longer for the tall KaibaCorp building to dissipate the energy that left it still swaying drunkenly like jiggled Jell-o.

The earthquake did not leave a single corner of Domino untouched, and every one of Yugi's friends faced their own sort of peril wherever they found themselves. Joey had run down to the university to take care of some registration issue, hoping it would only be a short errand so he could return Mai's car to her, but the quake caught him inside the library by the copy machine, scrambling to avoid being struck by books tumbling off the shelves. Just before he bolted for the door, something caught his attention – a familiar face, or perhaps it was the silvery hair, down between two bookshelves. He glanced aside in time to see Bakura cover his head with his arms and fall to the floor, while books rained down on top of him from the shelves. Joey skidded to a stop and changed course, darting down between the shelves and throwing himself on top of Bakura. He called his friend's name, but as he reached him he realized Bakura was unconscious, having been struck in the back of the head by a heavy book. Joey just hunkered down and resolved to protect Bakura until the shaking stopped, clenching his teeth and grunting painfully now and again as books cascaded down on top of them and struck him in the back. Clear across town, Tristan's job had him working currently at a construction site near the harbor, a particularly dangerous place to be in the middle of an earthquake. The moment the ground started shaking, men scattered in all directions, trying to put as much distance between them and the half-built warehouse as possible. Tristan was with two others in the part of the building honeycombed with small offices, where they had been installing wiring, but as they bolted, the first two got ahead and didn't stop to notice piles of loose materials come tumbling down behind them, cutting Tristan off since he was the last man in the line. The building was nowhere near completed enough to withstand an earthquake, it was all coming down, and Tristan realized he wasn't going to get out before it did. He dove into a small space formed by boards and beams that had fallen and braced each other, covering his head to wait it out. The building came down all around him and on top of him, piling girders and aluminum siding over him but leaving that space where he cowered undisturbed. The upheaval of the ground even split the concrete foundation, but somehow Tristan managed to ride it out without harm. The rumbling died away, at which point he lifted his head and opened his eyes, amazed to find himself enclosed in a dark space, dimly lit by sunlight filtering through cracks and crevices. He was alive, unhurt, but buried. And, as he got to his feet and paced the length of his prison, verifying that there was no immediately obvious way out, he realized he could hear something that filled him with trepidation. No other sounds made their way to him from outside, but for the faint, breathy hiss of escaping gas. He hunted around the chamber until he found it – the gas main ran under that part of the warehouse, and the quake had cracked it. It was deep beneath him, but he was fairly certain that gas was slowly leaking into the chamber from the cracks in the concrete beneath his feet. Tristan backed away from those cracks, climbing up as high onto the pile of rubble as he could, frozen by fear and unable to even cry out for help.

Scratched and cut by broken glass, Yugi held Kaiba and protected him with his body until the shaking stopped and a dreadful silence fell around them. The florescent lights dangled from the ceiling, damaged wiring sparked, and occasionally some shard of glass fell from the edge of the windows and tinkled as it hit the floor, but otherwise everything went still. Yugi lifted his head slowly, even as the protective barrier from within the Puzzle faded from around them and the pharaoh's powerful presence receded. Kaiba was still unconscious, and bleeding profusely from the cut on his head, so Yugi hunted around them for something he could use to stop it. There was nothing close by, and he didn't want to move Kaiba just yet, so he unbuttoned his blue shirt and yanked it off, ripping away a strip from the hem to press to the wound to stop the bleeding. He held his hand pressed to Kaiba's forehead for a few silent moments, his own panting breath loud in the stillness, and then tore off more of his shirt to wrap around Kaiba's head to hold the makeshift bandage in place. The rest of the shirt he bundled up and tucked underneath Kaiba to pillow him while he laid there. Kaiba's arm was twisted underneath him, so Yugi very carefully shifted him, thinking to himself that it didn't look good but he had no idea what to do about it. From within, Yami noticed that his younger half was shaking, covering up how scared he was by working to administer first aid. His inner voice was the first thing that Yugi heard intruding on the dread quiet of the ruined office. "Are you all right, Yugi?"

"I'm okay," Yugi quietly assured, his voice trembling as he spoke it aloud. "I'm a little cut up, but I'm okay."

"I know you're scared," Yami said patiently, gently. "Why don't you let me take over? You've had a nasty shock, you should take a moment to rest."

Yugi nearly whimpered with relief at the suggestion. "Um…okay," he relented, sitting back on his heels and taking a deep breath. The Puzzle flashed again, briefly, as Yami's mind came to the fore to protect his lover. He opened his eyes and gazed wisely down at Kaiba, knowing what he had to do. He settled Kaiba's limp body on the floor and got up, searching around the office for both supplies and information. The door to the hallway was completely blocked with fallen debris, and from the looks of the collapsed ceilings, there probably wasn't much of the hallway left either. All of the windows had shattered, littering the carpet with broken glass that crunched under his boots, and everything but Kaiba's laptop had been knocked off his desk. Yami Yugi went to the phone and picked it up, listening for a dial tone, but it was dead. He was pretty sure the electricity was out, too. A water cooler in the far corner had been knocked over and spilled, but there was enough water left in the plastic container to use. Yugi found Kaiba's coffee mug somewhere on the floor and filled it with water, taking a quick drink himself before refilling it and bringing it over to Kaiba. He was still out, but his wound needed tending. Yugi crouched down beside him, checking to see that the bleeding had stopped, before giving a short sigh and looking around. The broken windows let in faint sounds from below, a brisk wind that tossed the blinds arrogantly around and the distant yowl of a million car alarms going off. Apart from that, there was no sound to be had, least of all from the direction they needed the most – the other side of the barricade of debris.

About then, Kaiba stirred and let out a pained growl, which escalated to a sharp, seething hiss as he regained consciousness and realized just how much pain he was in. Opening his eyes, he looked up to regard Yami Yugi's concerned face looking over him, taking a moment to blink and let his unsteady gaze come into focus. "Dammit," he cursed.

"Kaiba," Yami Yugi said immediately, leaning in closer. "Easy, don't try to move."

Kaiba did anyway, hissing again and biting back a cry as he tried to push himself up and realized his arm wasn't cooperating. He let out a muttered stream of curses as he laid back and waited for his head to stop swimming – and the shooting pains to let go of his arm – and then glanced to Yugi with a sigh. "What happened? We were running for the door and then…"

"You were knocked out," Yugi replied. "The ceiling caved in, we're trapped in here."

"What?" Kaiba tried to sit up again, fighting against Yugi's care, but only got far enough to see that the door was blocked before falling back down. His uninjured right hand went to his head in instinct, because it hurt as well, and that was when he noticed the strip of fabric bound around his forehead. He gingerly touched the part that stung and scowled at the faint trace of blood that came away on his fingertips. "I see," he sullenly breathed. "Did you do this?"

Yugi nodded slowly. "I had to stop the bleeding. Other than that, how do you feel? Are you hurt otherwise?"

Kaiba gave up, figuring he was in no shape to protest help, and blinked absently at the cracked ceiling tiles as he thought. "No, just my head and my arm. I think it's broken." Something occurred to him then, and he dug inside his coat for a moment before finding the cell phone tucked into an inner pocket. He held it up before him, clicking buttons and becoming distinctly more annoyed. At last he growled and dropped the phone defeatedly. "Dammit. I can't get a signal."

Yugi glanced at where the door should have been. There was still no sound coming from beyond it. "The main phone is out as well. How are we going to let anyone know we're trapped here?"

"One thing at a time," Kaiba sighed. He glanced at the phone's display again; at least it told him the time, and he realized how long he had been out. He thought of the appointments and meetings that were supposed to be happening about now, and how they had all been nicely cancelled for him with no explanation needed. There was just one appointment he needed to keep, or needed to contact, and he wasn't sure how to do that just now. There were more pressing matters at hand.

As a matter of fact, Seto Kaiba had a date scheduled. It wasn't until much later in the evening, but it was still on his mind as he lay injured in his ruined office. Alastair was back in town, or so he hoped, as the last contact they had had was a few days earlier, when the red-haired young foreigner had called him to let him know he was coming to Japan on business. Kaiba had once asked him to let him know when he would be in town, and found himself scheduled to meet with Alastair later, not sure what would come of the encounter but secretly hoping maybe it would lead to more good sex like last time. Thanks to the earthquake, even that was now in doubt. Alastair was, in fact, in Domino at the moment, and not far from KaibaCorp himself. At the moment of the quake he had been walking downtown, having just arrived from Tokyo and out to play tourist for a bit, but he wisely threw himself into a doorway and sheltered until the shaking stopped and he could be certain nothing more would fall on him from overhead. He walked around in a daze, shocked at how the peaceful, colorful, innocent street he had been walking down just a minute before was suddenly a wreck and a ruin, covered in shattered glass, knocked-over signs, and precariously-dangling traffic lights that didn't work. At least there were no collapsed buildings that he could see. As he looked around, Alastair ducked down a side street and saw ahead of him the battered façade of the KaibaCorp building, its majestic appearance spoiled by so many windows broken out, gaping at him like so many toothless grins. His heart sank, and without even thinking about it he started towards the building at a dead run, eager to see if there was anything he could do to help, while trying not to think of any worst-case scenarios.

The university campus had been particularly hard hit, its semi-modern buildings faring a bit better than some of the older structures, like the library. That had been shaken to pieces, huge holes in its brick walls and the columns at the main entrance all broken down. Coughing the dust out of his throat, Joey looked around to see that he and Bakura had survived intact, though they were buried in books and two of the tall bookshelves had fallen against each other, propping each other up lest one of them fall flat onto the two boys. The whole building was dark, but a great hole in the far wall let in enough natural light to see by. A few other bewildered students staggered around, picking themselves up and crawling out from under tables in order to search for an escape route. Joey sat back on his heels and tossed aside all the books that had fallen around them, clearing them away so he could get Bakura out of there. But as he held the unconscious young man in his arms, he wasn't sure just how badly he had been hurt and didn't want to move him, just in case. There wasn't anybody else around to call over to help, so Joey figured he'd have to do it all himself. He touched Bakura's face, feeling for a pulse in his neck, and then brushed back his messy hair when he realized Bakura was alive, just out cold. He only had a moment or two to collect himself, wiping across his forehead with the back of his arm, before Bakura stirred, moaning softly. His eyelashes fluttered uncertainly. Joey leaned over him. "Bakura! Hey, Bakura. Wake up. It's me, man."

Ryo breathed shallowly, having a difficult time waking up. His brown eyes opened very slightly, and he tilted his head toward the voice. "Joey…?" he sighed.

"That's right," Joey assured him. "Come on, Bakura, you can do it. It's okay, the earthquake's over."

Ryo moaned again, and blinked as he recognized the face hanging over him. "Joey," he said again, a little more strongly, before giving a little sigh and passing out again.

"Bakura! No, come on, man, stay with me." Joey patted him on the cheeks, but Bakura was not going to wake up again. Joey growled and sat back, kicking books out of his way in frustration. He looked around once more, but there was still no help to be had.

The body beside him groaned again, making him look sharply, but even as Bakura's eyes were opening again, a hand closed tightly on Joey's wrist. He started and looked down in confusion as Bakura awoke, though something about him seemed different. Something in his eyes. His head turned to regard Joey, and a scowl flitted to his lips. "You," he seethed in a deeper voice. "What happened?"

Joey tensed at the strange aura surrounding his friend, and the hand on his wrist. This wasn't Ryo anymore. "Earthquake," he said bluntly. "I'm trying to help you. We have to get out of here before these bookshelves collapse on us. There are gonna be aftershocks."

The hand tugged at his wrist, and Bakura pushed himself up enough to respond. "Don't…let them…take the Ring," he growled.

"What?" Joey frowned curiously. "Who do you mean?"

"The emergency personnel. Don't let them take my Ring," the spirit within Bakura demanded.

Joey's frown deepened, but then he noticed, as Bakura tried to sit up, the outline of the Millennium Ring underneath his half-buttoned shirt. Why he had it, Joey could not fathom, but he decided to cooperate and nodded. "I won't let anyone touch it," he promised. "But now you gotta help me. I have to get us out of here, but I don't want to move you if you're hurt. Are you injured? Can you move?"

Though his head swam, Bakura laid back and shifted his limbs one by one. "Yes," he said darkly, "I can move. I'm fine."

"All right." Joey snaked an arm underneath his shoulders and made to pick him up. "You can go away now, you've done your part. Bakura's gonna be okay."

The spirit's gaze flickered, as he realized Joey knew the difference, and then he seethed a short growl of impatience. He was angry, but only because he felt helpless and knew the only thing he could control right now was Ryo's mind – his body didn't want to come along for the ride. "Just…don't let them take the Ring," he demanded one more time before giving in to the haze that wanted to swamp his senses, falling unconscious once again.

Glad that he didn't have to face the dark spirit a minute longer, Joey bundled Bakura in his arms and picked him up out of the nest of books, carrying him out from between the bookshelves and straight to the hole in the wall, the fastest way out of the crumbling library. He picked his way carefully through the damage, stepping out into the sunshine and looking around to see if there were any emergency personnel around after all. He had to get Bakura to a hospital, or find him other medical attention, that much he knew. He glanced down again at the Ring peeping from beneath his friend's shirt, and shook his head. _I don't want to know why you have that right now_ , he mused internally, _but at least that spirit helped me out. Just hold on, Bakura. I'll get you some help_.

Once the earthquake was over, Duke politely saw his customers out the door, promising to hold their intended purchases behind the counter until the store could be opened again and they could come and pay for them. The building seemed okay, though some of the windows were broken, as were the TV screens at the display area, and a good percentage of his merchandise was not on the shelves as it should be, but piled on the floor. He looked around the store with a sigh, not relishing the amount of work it was going to be cleaning all of it up, but at least he was okay, as were all customers and employees in the store at the time of the quake. He locked the doors and set one of the young men to board up the broken windows first, to protect against looters, while he took stock of the situation and then pulled out his cell phone. He at least had a signal, though not very strong. There was only one person he needed to contact, and he hit the speed-dial, but it didn't pick up. Not only was Tristan not answering his phone, it wasn't even going through to his voice mail. The recording on the line warned Duke that the number he wanted was not in service. Though there could have been a million reasons why a cell phone wasn't working after an earthquake, Duke's imagination immediately settled on the worst of them, and his heart went cold within him. He pocketed his phone and ran to the counter, swiping his keys from the register now that he had locked it so no one could get at the money. "Keep an eye on things for me," he ordered the manager standing behind the counter at the moment. "Shop's closed, no one can come in, just…hold down the fort."

"But why? Where are you going?" she asked, puzzled.

"I have to find Tristan!" he snapped, already running for the door. "Just keep an eye on the place until I get back!"

He leaped into his car and drove like a maniac through the confused and panicked streets of Domino, which were under the rule of chaos now with traffic signals blacked out in large parts of the city. Fortunately, there was nothing blocking his way down to the harbor, and Duke noticed as he drove that the damage got worse the further he went. He flicked on the radio and let it hunt for information, as all the stations had dropped their music in favor of news reports, but he heard nothing that pertained to him as he drove down to the work site he knew Tristan to be at. He pulled into a parking spot conveniently left next to Tristan's motorcycle and raced onto the site, not caring that he wasn't supposed to be there or had no safety equipment. He was pretty sure the building they were constructing was not supposed to look like that, and the crowds of workers gathered around confirmed that they had barely escaped with their lives. A couple were sitting or lying around with injuries, but the others stood in small clusters. Duke scanned them with his eyes, quickly confirming that Tristan was not one of the injured, but the more unfamiliar faces he saw, the more he began to panic. He sought out the foreman in the white hard hat and nice tie, grabbing his arm and demanding his attention. "Tristan Taylor. Where is he?"

The foreman had a clipboard, but the blunt question from this obvious civilian took him aback. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm a friend of his," Duke explained. "I can't reach him on his cell phone, I know he's working here. Where is he?" He noticed the clipboard, a list of names with check marks by them. "You've checked to see that everyone is accounted for, haven't you?"

The foreman looked nervous suddenly. "Well, yes, but…unfortunately…"

"Chief! Over here!" someone called from across the property.

The foreman, several of the able workers, and Duke ran towards him, to one of the piles of rubble that used to be the office block of the warehouse. More workers were climbing on top of it and shouting things into it, while some ran back and forth from the foreman to the front line, but Duke couldn't understand any of their chaotic yelling. Finally, the foreman said something he could hear, and understand. "Taylor is trapped inside that debris," he said. "At least he's not injured."

Duke sighed heavily. "Great," he muttered, "now how do you get him out?"

"It's not going to be easy." The foreman pointed to the pile. "That's several tons of construction material and what used to be the building on top of him. He may not be hurt, but we don't know what'll happen if an aftershock shifts that debris or something."

"That ambulance better hurry," one of the other workers said as he ran up to them.

Duke gave a small start of alarm. "I thought you said he wasn't hurt!"

"He's not…but there's a gas leak somewhere inside there," the worker reported. "If we don't get him out soon, the fumes will overcome him."

Duke stood back with a little growl, clenching his hands into fists, aware that there was nothing he could actually do to help, but the thought that Tristan could die even though he hadn't been hurt by the earthquake cut into his heart like ice. He stood there motionless as the construction workers called out to one another, dragging every last available man who could walk and haul over to the pile to begin digging Tristan out, by hand if they had to.

Deep inside the small pocket of safety inside the rubble, Tristan was rather grateful that his shouts had been heard, and people knew where he was. He wasn't sure what it looked like from the outside, but the fact that they could call to each other and he could let them know he was uninjured gave him hope that they could make a way to him. He wasn't sure how big the gas leak was, but he reported it nonetheless, and then climbed up as high as he could on the rubble, searching out air pockets. He stripped off his t-shirt and tied it around his face as a makeshift mask, hoping it would help in any small way. All he could do now was wait, putting his faith in his coworkers to save him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 5

Kicking through the debris scattered on the floor of the office, Yami Yugi found a large picture frame that had been knocked off the wall and broken into pieces, deciding it was perfect for what he needed. The certificate inside – some recognition from some gaming magazine from a few years ago – he put underneath a chunk of the ceiling to keep it from blowing away in the rough wind coming through the broken windows before coming back to Kaiba's side. Kaiba was watching him warily, as he poked about in determined silence, and looked up as his rival knelt beside his unresponsive arm. "What are you going to do?" he asked sullenly.

"You said you think your arm is broken," Yugi noted. "Until we can get you some medical assistance, it should be set as best we can. Excuse me…" He tugged at the shirt bundled beneath Kaiba's head, getting him to move just enough to let him take it. He ripped it into several more strips and made to begin, picking Kaiba's left arm up from the floor.

The moment he did so, Kaiba let out a shout of pain and nearly slugged him with the fist at his other side. Yugi paused, holding him still and letting him regain his breath. "Dammit," he snapped, "be more careful, would you?"

"I'm doing the best I can, Kaiba," Yugi said patiently, in his deeper Yami voice. "This…" He brushed his hand along the metal bracer on his forearm. "How does it come off?"

"Don't take it off," Kaiba seethed. "That'll hurt worse than anything else you can do to me."

"If I don't get it off, your arm will swell and then the doctors will have to cut it off," Yugi said sharply.

Without admitting he was right, Kaiba settled back down and looked away. "Underneath, you can find the clasps. Just pop them open."

Lifting up Kaiba's arm as carefully as he could, letting Kaiba's sequence of hissed curses and savage growls be his guide to exactly what hurt when, Yugi found the small, inset clasps that held the bracer seamlessly closed and deftly popped them one by one with a flick of each switch. The bracer opened and allowed itself to be removed, and even Kaiba had to admit that his arm didn't hurt so much without it now. Yami Yugi gave a small, wry chuckle as he rested the injured arm in his lap. "And you taunted me for wearing weird jewelry," he smirked as he laid the broken pieces of the picture frame along Kaiba's arm and made to bind them in place with the fabric from his shirt.

Kaiba took a deep breath and steeled himself to endure the wretched pain that seared from his arm through the rest of his body as Yugi created the makeshift splint, gritting his teeth to keep himself from crying out again. The worst was over quickly, as the broken bones in his arm were forced back into their proper place, and he was able to quiet down and breathe more easily as Yugi worked. Kaiba shifted his gaze to the graceful young man in the black tank top, the Millennium Puzzle swinging pendulum-like above his lap, and realized after a moment that he was looking at Yugi's other half, his dark inner spirit – his true rival. He was the more confident one, the grim-faced and deep-eyed one, more curt and less soft than Yugi in situations like this. He was still gentle as he worked, but unlike young Yugi, who Kaiba thought he knew so well, he was far more controlled and said very little. He seemed to have shrugged off his own small injuries, the razor-thin cut on his cheek and a few more on his forearms, which Kaiba noticed, in order to help. At last, he finished and sat back with a small nod to himself. Kaiba flexed his fingers to test the strength of the splint, wincing at the pain but content to see that it wasn't as bad as before. He tried his cell phone once again and sighed. "It's no use," he reported. "I can't get through to anyone." His eyes closed briefly. "Mokuba…"

Yugi glanced at him. "I'm sure he's all right," he tried to reassure. "And just as worried about you."

Kaiba grumbled to himself over Yugi seeing anything resembling worry in him, but could do nothing except lay there in pain, fumbling for the mug of water beside him to soothe his parched throat. Just then, both of them heard a faint but distinct sound of scrabbling in the direction of the barricaded door, and after a moment, a muffled voice shouting, "Kaiba! Mr. Kaiba! Are you in there?"

Kaiba pushed himself onto one elbow, eyes hunting toward the source of the shout. "Roland," he realized.

Yugi got to his feet and ran to the barricade, not sure exactly in which direction he should try to call back. "Is someone out there? Can you hear me?" he shouted. "We're in here, we need help!"

"You can hear me?" Roland shouted back from somewhere on the far side of the debris. "Where is Mr. Kaiba?"

"He's in here with me," Yugi informed him. "He's been hurt! Can you get us out of here?"

On the other side of the blockade, Roland sized up the pile of beams and drywall and considered that from the faint sound of the voice calling back to him, it had to be of considerable size. They hadn't even been able to find the receptionist's desk yet, good thing she was in the bathroom when the quake hit. "Hold on!" he yelled back. "We don't know how far in you are. It'll take a little while to dig you out!" He looked over the debris, his heart sinking to think how much effort it was going to take to physically move all of that to get some small hole opened. Already a few of the workers he brought with him were picking their way through it, shifting pieces here and there, but it looked to be a sizeable job. He took a breath and called out one more time. "How badly is Mr. Kaiba hurt?"

Yugi listened and glanced at Kaiba before responding. "His arm is broken, and he was struck in the head. I can't lift all of this debris by myself, I need your help from outside!"

"We'll do our best!" Roland called back. "Just hang on for a bit!"

Kaiba's personal assistant had removed his suit coat and rolled up his sleeves to pitch in when a stranger appeared behind him, giving him a start. He vaguely recognized the tall young man with red hair and a long dark coat, but couldn't quite remember from where. It had taken Alastair some time to get there, grateful that the emergency generators which backed up the computer systems and the main personnel elevator had kicked in, but he was a little out of breath from taking the last few floors by stairs. He looked past Roland to the piled up rubble and the KaibaCorp executives feebly trying to dig their way through it. "That's Kaiba's office," he noticed.

"Who are you?" Roland asked him. "Did you have an appointment…?"

"You could say that," Alastair replied, finally looking at him instead of the disheartening barricade preventing them from getting to Kaiba's office. "I'm a little early, though. What can I do to help?"

Roland set his hands on his hips and huffed a short sigh. "Mr. Kaiba and his guest are trapped on the other side of that," he explained, pointing. "Mr. Kaiba is injured and needs medical attention, but we have to get him out first."

A flicker of concern passed through Alastair's gray eyes. "It's going to take you forever to get through this way," he said bluntly. "There's got to be another way."

Roland shook his head sternly. "Not unless you can fly into the windows."

Alastair perked up sharply at that. "Are there any helicopters on the roof?"

Roland gaped at him. "Wha…helicopters? Maybe, but…"

"Get a medic and meet me on the helipad," Alastair demanded, turning and striding briskly back down the hall to the stairwell.

A short time later, Roland and an emergency worker carrying a tackle box full of supplies came out of the stairwell onto the roof, seeing the one helicopter that had been parked up there was undamaged and working fine, as Alastair was already in the pilot's seat and had started it. Though he was pretty sure this was a crazy idea, Roland gestured to the medic and the two of them ran across the windy pad to leap into the open side of the civilian helicopter. Alastair glanced at them as they boarded and nodded, taking off immediately. Roland grabbed one of the headsets on a peg in order to use the radio to talk to their pilot. "Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?" he yelped.

Alastair glanced back at him again with a cool smile. "Trust me," he answered. "I know what I'm doing." He lifted them slowly up into the air, and with perfect technique, had them gliding out over the edge of KaibaCorp in seconds, circling the building at Roland's direction to find the set of smashed-out windows that belonged to Kaiba's office.

Figuring they were in for a long wait, Yugi had gone to the broken water cooler to fill the mug with what was left of the water and returned to Kaiba's side with it, when the sigh of wind from outside was suddenly filled with a throbbing sound. Both of them glanced up to see a helicopter fly past, a blue "KC" logo on its side, and then it came back, settling in to hover even with the wide-open windows. Clinging precariously to the open door of the aircraft were a medic and an extremely terrified-looking Roland, both wearing harnesses to connect them to a safety line inside. Astonished, Kaiba pried himself up to look and see just who was brave and dumb enough to fly a helicopter so close to the building, his gaze shooting through to the cockpit and the red-haired figure at the controls. Alastair glanced back, but didn't seem to see that far into the office – he was shouting something at Roland. The assistant was white with fear and paralyzed by the thought of just how far down it would be if he jumped and missed, but the medic beside him put on a brave face. He found something inside the helicopter to strap his medical box to his back, and then took a running start and leaped from the helicopter door through the window, landing neatly inside the office. Alastair managed to get the craft dangerously close to the edge of the building, his piloting skills providing them with a perfect leap of faith to get help to Kaiba. Roland stood at the edge for a few minutes, mustering his courage, while the strong wind buffeted him and made his shirt and tie flap violently. At last, he gritted his teeth and pushed himself off, reaching for the medic who was already reaching back to catch him and help him through the window. He made it with plenty of room to spare, and glanced back in shock to see that he'd done it. Having safely deposited his cargo, Alastair waited for them to unsnap the safety harnesses and pulled back from the building, hovering a moment longer to see the men waving him off before lifting the helicopter up and away, heading back for the helipad.

The medic ran to Kaiba's side first, setting the box down and opening it up to get proper bandages for the wound on his head. Yugi looked up with a sigh of relief as help came to them, and Yami felt it safe now to let go and let his young charge be himself again. Aid was there, and he was no longer alone to look after Kaiba by himself. Yugi sat back out of the way as Roland knelt beside his boss, asking eagerly if he was all right and what he could do. Kaiba grunted painfully as the medic looked over his splinted arm. "Mokuba," he said shortly. "Someone has to find Mokuba. Is your phone working?"

Roland shook his head. "I can't get a signal."

"Neither can I." Kaiba laid back down and sighed. "Great. Now instead of the two of us trapped in here, there's four of us. Great thinking, Roland."

"The medic and I aren't hurt," Roland pointed out, "we can begin moving some of this debris from inside. I have several more people working on the outside, we'll meet each other in the middle. Our main priority was to get you the medical help you needed."

"We'll have to have the doctors set this properly when we get out," the emergency worker noted, "but it's done up well for now. Did you do this?"

Yugi glanced up, realizing that he was being addressed. "Huh? Oh, yeah," he shyly answered. "Is it all right? I didn't make it worse, did I?"

"No, you did a good job," the medic complimented. "Mr. Kaiba should be all right for now. Here, you look like you've been hurt yourself…"

The medic came over to Yugi instead, inspecting his cuts while Kaiba needled Roland for more information. "I need to know how bad the damage is," he growled. "How many hurt? Is anyone dead?"

"I haven't gotten reports from all sectors yet, sir," Roland said. "So far, it looks like no one has been killed, and most of the injuries are minor to moderate. The emergency generators are working, the computer systems are all backed up, and the personnel elevators are operational. Your executive elevators are out, though," he shrugged. "We lost power briefly, but essential systems are back online with the emergency power."

"Fine," Kaiba muttered. "That's all we can do for now." He checked his phone for a signal and growled at it, giving up. "Now you'll have to dig us out, because there's no way that helicopter can get close enough to the building for you to jump back out, let alone me and Yugi."

"Who was that flying the helicopter?" Yugi wondered. "He was very brave, to do that."

"Someone," Kaiba answered hesitantly, looking away. He had seen clearly. "One of my later appointments."

"I thought he was nuts," Roland admitted, "but it was a good idea after all."

The medic asked Yugi to look after Kaiba for a little while longer, while he and Roland saw to the work of trying to clear a path through the debris to the door. The main cause of the damage was a single metal girder that ran from the corner of Kaiba's office, over the door, into the hallway and through, giving them a sort of path they could follow as long as they could clear away enough of the rubble to climb over it and out. Yugi sat back against the wall with Kaiba sprawled on the floor at his feet, having found it more comfortable to lie down instead of sit beside Yugi. They didn't know how long it would take the men to dig them out, but at least they were relatively safe and had medical supplies close at hand now. Yugi curled his arms around his knees and sat in a timid little ball, alternating between watching the two able-bodied men work and glancing at Kaiba, who lay with his eyes closed. "Well," Yugi said softly, "so much for our meeting."

Kaiba spoke without bothering to open his eyes. "It's not over. Consider it postponed."

Yugi looked curiously down at him. "You really do want me to help, then?"

"I wouldn't have asked you to come here if I didn't." Kaiba blinked and shifted his gaze to Yugi beside him. "I'm not in the habit of wasting people's time. Whatever may happen between us on the dueling field, I'm not letting it have a bearing on my business. This project is important to me, and I will make all the right alliances and find the best deals to make it happen."

"All right, then." Yugi let his head fall back against the wall. "Don't worry about it right now, though. You can call me when things get back to normal. Right now, just concentrate on getting better, and taking care of your company and Mokuba."

Kaiba's expression twitched uncomfortably at the mention of his little brother, though he restrained himself from checking his cell phone yet again for a signal. He stared at the ceiling, hoping to himself that Mokuba was all right, wherever he was, and that he would be out of the damaged office soon so he could send someone to find him. Then he heard Yugi's soft voice again. "Let me know if you need anything. I don't think there's any water left, but there's still some in the cup."

Kaiba glanced up at him, noticing that he looked rather worn out already, considering they hadn't been trapped more than an hour. He said nothing, but inwardly resolved to do whatever it took to repay him for the assistance he had already rendered. Business was one thing, but owing his life was something Kaiba hated to have hanging over his head, and always worked to rectify the matter as quickly as possible. He settled for closing his eyes again to rest, listening to the sounds of Roland and the medic straining to break through the debris into the corridor beyond, where help waited.

It didn't take much for Joey to figure out where to take Bakura, as he staggered across campus hoping to not have to go far with the burden in his arms. The flashing lights and sirens of aid cars pointed the way to the main commons, where a temporary triage had been set up to handle the countless cases of minor injury suffered by a great many students who had been on campus at the time of the earthquake. Joey was directed to place the unconscious Ryo on an empty cot and wait, as there were more serious injuries coming in and everything had to be done in order of priority. An emergency worker checked over Bakura briefly but said he could be left to rest until he woke up, at which point someone would see to him, so long as he had no other injuries. Joey said as far as he knew, no, there was nothing else, so he settled down to wait with Bakura, not wanting to leave him alone at a time like this. As soon as the aid worker went back to help with someone with serious bleeding issues, Joey remembered to do as the spirit of the Ring had demanded and slipped the cord bearing the Ring from Bakura's neck. He paused a moment, looking curiously at the Ring as he held it in both hands, wondering. _Maybe I shouldn't give it back_ , he thought. _That spirit already has too much control over Bakura. Maybe it's time this went back to the pharaoh. He would never know, he's out cold_. Joey reached to his friend's backpack sitting at his feet, tucking the Ring inside. The dangling tines jingled faintly as they fell against the books inside. _Then again…_ Joey frowned at the gleam of gold peeking at him from the bag. _The spirit knows I took it, he asked me to. He'd figure it out sooner or later, and then I'd have to deal with him_. A shiver ran up Joey's spine. _Gah! No way man, I do_ not _want to have to deal with that. I'm not Yami, I can't stand up to that thing if it decides to come after me because I stole his Ring and gave it to the pharaoh. Last thing I need is to be sent to the shadow realm permanently! All right, then_. Joey settled onto his seat beside the cot, looking over Bakura's peaceful sleeping face, streaked with dirt and sweat. _I got your back, Bakura. I won't leave you. I'll just hold your Ring till you're awake, and the doctors make sure you're okay. That's what I promised_.

At least one aftershock jolted the city, some hour or so after the initial quake, making the construction workers digging to find Tristan scatter from the unstable debris field for a short time. Duke paced the dusty ground nearby, having finally found some small thing to make himself useful – monitoring a battery-powered radio for tsunami warnings. So far there didn't seem to be any indications that the earthquake had or would spawn a killer wave, which would swamp the entire harbor end of Domino where the construction site was, but they couldn't let down their guard until enough time had gone by to ensure it. The radio sat on the hood of the foreman's car, and Duke paced restlessly beside it, kicking at stones and wondering how long it was going to take to extricate Tristan from the rubble. Now that his initial panic had ebbed, he was getting annoyed and frustrated, no matter how much he kept telling himself that these were complicated matters and they had to be careful not to shift the rubble and crush the person they were trying to save. Duke stopped short of mentally blaming Tristan for getting trapped, since he was the only one at the site who didn't make it out, because he was more worried about him and simply wanted to see him safe. He settled for pacing, and monitoring the radio, because any more than that would threaten to spill to Tristan's manly coworkers that the two of them were gay, and Duke was not an idiot. He knew not to let that get out.

Tristan did his best not to fret and stayed in one place so as not to exert himself, lest he use up his good air too quickly, but the claustrophobia was getting to him and he began to fear suffocating to death in the little prison. He had managed at last to find the biggest, most promising hole to let in light and air, but he didn't know how long he would last if the leaking gas fumes became stronger than the trickle of fresh air. His shouts had directed the men outside to the best area to dig, and they yelled occasionally to let him know they were working as hard as they could and were coming for him, but it was more heartening to hear the sounds of their excavation and feel the vibration of some of the debris around him as other pieces jolted or scraped on the distant outside. Then, a particularly violent slide sent a cloud of dust into the chamber, making him cough despite the shirt tied over his face, and his space was suddenly illuminated much more brightly. He looked up through the hole to see sky, and then several faces so far away that it crushed the fleeting moment of joy that had stolen through his heart. Nevertheless, Tristan stretched up as far as he could into the moderately-sized hole. "Hey, hey!" he called up. "I can see you guys!"

"Tristan!" one of them called back. "Hey, how are you doing?"

"Kinda not liking where I am at the moment," Tristan replied in exasperation. "I'm okay, though. For now. I don't know how big the gas leak is, so…"

"You got enough air down there?" someone else asked.

"Uh…think so, for now." Tristan grinned beneath his mask. "I could go for a pizza, though."

Duke heard the shouting going on at one part of the rubble, where they had been working the hardest, and came running over to see what the commotion was about. The men were laughing, so he guessed it wasn't anything tragic. "What, what's going on?" he asked them.

"We made a hole," one of the men told him. "He's down in there good, but at least we can see him and how much we have to move to get him out."

"You can?" Duke raced up to them and climbed a short way onto the rubble, aware that he was not wearing the right shoes to be doing this. "Tristan! Can you hear me, buddy?"

Tristan could not believe what he was hearing, he thought the depth of his prison and the thickness of the rubble was distorting someone's voice. "Duke?" he breathed to himself. Hearing his name called again, he was sure, and yelled back. "Duke! Is that you?"

"Tristan!" Duke accepted a hand from one of the burly construction workers and hauled himself up so he could peek into the hole. Deep down, at least six feet, he could see Tristan's bright eyes looking back, and couldn't help but smile. "Hey there," he said, choosing casual as the best option for conversing with his lover in front of strangers. "How's it going?"

"I'm stuck in a hole."

"I can see that."

"What the hell are you doing here? What about the store?"

Duke tilted his head in a sort of shrug. "Store's a mess, but it's not damaged majorly. I left it in the hands of my managers, I had to come down to find you. I couldn't get through on your phone."

"Hello, earthquake," Tristan snorted. "I'm sure half the city can't use their cell phones."

Duke's face sobered somewhat. "You doing all right down there?"

Tristan sighed, hating to see that look. "Yeah, for now," he replied. "Duke, there's a…"

"I know. They've been telling me everything." Duke gave him a hardened stare. "Don't worry, they'll get you out. We already got this much of a hole, we can see you. Just hang in there."

"Hey." Another worker nudged his shoulder. Duke turned to see the man holding out a bottled water to him. "You're smaller and skinnier than most of us. See if you can reach down in that hole and get it to him."

Duke took the bottle with a nod, and hoisted himself up father. "Tristan!" he called down. "Can you stretch up to meet me? I'm going to try to hand you a bottle of water!"

Tristan glanced around him, making sure there was nothing sharp that he shouldn't put a hand on first, and then crawled up into the space laid open by the excavation, stretching his arm forward. "I'll sure try!"

Duke clenched the cap of the bottle in his teeth as he crawled forward into the hole, pausing when he felt something underneath him shift dangerously. Two of the workers lunged and grabbed him by the belt, steadying him. He grabbed the bottle in a fist and slithered into the hole, relying on the support of the workers to keep him from falling in himself. The passage was definitely too small for most people, but lithe Duke Devlin was able to get part of the way in before it narrowed to only permit his arm and the bottle of water to get through. Tristan's hand groped up to meet him, and with one small lunge snatched the bottle away from him. He withdrew his arm to pass the water bottle into his other hand, and then reached up again as long as Duke was half stuck there. In the darkness of the little hole where no one could see them, their hands met and clasped for just a few seconds. Duke grunted, then, as the hands clenched on the cuffs of his pants were pulling and making his belt put too much pressure on his stomach, so he kicked his foot to indicate to the men that he should be pulled out. His fingers slid out of Tristan's grasp, and they were apart again.

Duke climbed down off the rubble and wiped the sweat out of his eyes with the back of his arm, finally able to dust himself off. His face was now covered in dirt and flushed with exertion, or perhaps emotion, but he felt much better now that he had seen for himself that Tristan was okay. Meanwhile, inside the chamber, Tristan sat back down on the debris and uncapped the water, greedily drinking down half of it before realizing he should save it, in case they couldn't get Duke back in to deliver any more. He put the cap back on and replaced his mask, and leaned back against a loose rail. Knowing Duke was outside made waiting a little more bearable.

It took considerable time for Roland and the emergency medical worker to push aside enough of the debris to make a hole big enough for a man to be carried through, but the other KaibaCorp employees on the far side halved the process, meeting them in the middle somewhere. Kaiba lay quietly the whole time next to Yugi, who sat in a daze against the wall, his thoughts turned inward to Yami, who was silent but soothing in his presence. With a last crash part of the wall fell away in a cloud of drywall dust, and suddenly several employees in shirtsleeves with their ties flung away were staring at each other across the heavy metal beam that had fallen through the ceiling. Roland rushed to Kaiba's side and found him alert and ready, and had no trouble helping him up off the floor, shouldering him carefully. Kaiba held his splinted arm to his side, but was already barking orders even before they had gotten out of the room. "First things first," he demanded of Roland, "send someone to find Mokuba, immediately! I want him brought here at all costs. We have injured? Only send the life-threatening cases to the hospitals, I don't want to swamp them with every little cut and bruise. We have medical facilities on the lower floor, everyone else can go there. There's enough trouble in the city as it is, we don't need to add to it. No, I'm fine," he added to some peon who came up to see if he could help. "Don't worry about me, just do as I say!" Roland helped him over the beam still sort of blocking the way, and then they were in the hall and face to face with Alastair. Kaiba's words froze on his lips, as he found himself staring in wonder at the slender young man. Alastair had thrown off his coat and pitched in to help, and was currently looking disheveled and dirty, but he gazed back with mingled relief and expectation, and a good dose of uncertainty. He didn't know what Kaiba could or would say to him, in this tense moment, and he didn't know that he should expect any kind of acknowledgement. A fleeting smile passed so quickly across Kaiba's face that anyone who blinked missed it. "What's the status of the helipad?" he went on as if nothing had happened to arrest his attention.

"There are some significant cracks in the pavement, but it can still be used," Roland reported. "Your helicopter is fine."

"It better be." Kaiba gave Alastair a brief, surreptitious glance as he was escorted past, and then concentrated on making his way down the stairs with assistance to the infirmary.

Yugi was the next to pass through the opening, though the medic followed behind him to make sure he was all right and needed no help. It was then his turn to face Alastair, and he started in shock at the random appearance of this ghost from his past. Alastair, in turn, was rather surprised to see that Yugi was the guest who had been trapped with Kaiba in the office. "Yugi?" he said in wonder. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Yugi said, giving him a wan smile.

"Bring him along," Kaiba suddenly barked from down the corridor. They looked to see him glancing back over Roland's shoulder at them. "Yugi's hurt too, I want to have his injuries looked at."

"I'm fine," Yugi protested, waving a hand. "It's just a few little cuts."

"Maybe," Alastair said, "but you're not gonna argue with him, are you? Come on, I'll help you down there. You don't look totally fine."

He picked up his coat and then put an arm gingerly around Yugi's shoulders, guiding him along. Yugi submitted to his assistance, feeling a bit wobbly after all. "It's…Alastair, right? I don't think you and I ever really met face to face," he murmured as they walked. "This is kind of weird, considering…"

"I know," Alastair said gently. "But I assure you, I'm not the same man I was then. I'm not a bad guy, all that was over when I lost my soul…and then found it again."

"I believe you." Yugi looked tiredly up as Alastair held the door to the stairwell open for him. "It sounds like just about everybody connected with that craziness had a change of heart in the end."

"I know I did." Alastair quickly darted out a hand to catch Yugi as his foot slipped on a step. "Careful, there. You must be more shaken up than you thought."

"I guess." Yugi gave in and leaned on Alastair, as long as he was going to be there for support. "So…what brings you here? To KaibaCorp, of all places?"

"Um…" Alastair hesitated, not sure how much he should relate at the moment. "I came to see Kaiba," he said to start. "We had an appointment, for later. But I was nearby when the earthquake hit, so I came to see if I could help."

"Ah." Yugi nodded absently. "You're in Domino for…fun? Or did you move here and I missed it?"

"Business, actually," Alastair said casually. "I'm working now as an international courier, I had a package to deliver."

Yugi chuckled faintly. "What a time to visit, huh?"

A few floors down from the executive levels they could catch a working elevator, and piled in together with Roland and Kaiba. The company's own private infirmary and medical facilities were on one of the lower floors, one which appeared to have escaped most damage apart from things being knocked over. Employees with various cuts, scrapes, concussions, and other minor hurts looked up in surprise and concern as their president was led through them to a private screened-in area near the back where doctors could look at him, no matter how much he shrugged off the pain and insisted he was fine. Yugi was directed to go with him, and Alastair guided him until they were all closed away behind the privacy screens. Kaiba was made to sit down on a gurney, where he was immediately swarmed by medical personnel wanting to see to his broken arm. He continued to snap orders to Roland and his other assistants over their heads, before sending them all away to do as he requested and letting the doctors do their work. Alastair sat Yugi down on another gurney, waiting a few minutes to see that no one was coming to look him over before sitting down to attend to him personally. It wasn't hard for him to round up the right supplies, and in a few minutes he was kindly swabbing Yugi's cuts with saline and making sure all the glass was out of them. Yugi looked very tired, but he managed a smile as he watched Alastair prepare a gauze bandage with ointment for one of the particularly deep cuts on his arm. "You've done this before," he noted.

A shadow of a smile crossed Alastair's face. "You may not know this, but…I grew up in a war zone," he said quietly. "I was a refugee, in Eastern Europe back in the days when it was all civil wars and genocide. You had to learn basic first aid just to make it."

"Oh. No, I didn't know," Yugi murmured. "Was it hard? Growing up like that?"

"I didn't think so. It was just the way it was, I didn't know any different. But I lost all of my family," he added, more seriously. "That's where my connection to Kaiba begins…his father supplied our enemies with the military vehicles and weapons that destroyed our village and killed my family."

Suddenly, being scratched up and trapped in an office didn't seem to Yugi to be so bad. "That's terrible," he sighed sympathetically. "That's why you went after him, when you worked for Dartz?"

Alastair nodded solemnly. "It's a much longer story than that, but you don't need to hear it right now. Suffice it to say, Kaiba and I have…history."

"I see." Yugi glanced past him, to where Kaiba sat with a swarm of doctors doting on him. "I got some of the story of what happened between you two from Mokuba, after it was all over. Kaiba didn't want to say anything about it but Mokuba told us everything he remembered seeing. So…" He frowned in question. "…what did you come to see Kaiba for? I always thought he put that whole business with Dartz behind him and didn't want to look back."

Alastair sighed heavily, hesitating to answer. He was able to avoid it for a few minutes while he finished cleaning Yugi's cuts, but then there was nothing left to busy himself with. "Well," he began, "maybe I'll save Kaiba the embarrassment of having to tell you himself. He and I…we kind of had a date set for tonight."

Yugi blinked uncertainly. "A…date? Like, a real date?" He blinked again. "Kaiba?"

"I wouldn't say it too loudly if I were you." Alastair glanced over his shoulder, but Kaiba's attention was rather elsewhere at the moment. "For his sake, I won't go into detail. But…it's not the first time. He and I sort of…see each other whenever I'm in town."

Yugi's mouth fell open in awe. "Since when?"

"Not long. A few months ago."

"Wow." Yugi looked down at his hands clasped in his lap, and the neat bandages taped to the worst cuts on his arms. "I would have never seen that coming."

"It's nothing serious," Alastair tried to insist, wiping his hands clean and putting things away. "Just a…little fling."

"Don't worry. I understand." Yugi smiled faintly. "I'm just amazed that it's Kaiba we're talking about. I never thought of him as the kind to let anybody get close to him." A memory flitted across his mind, and he found himself sitting up in amazement. _Of course! Maybe that's what Kaiba meant at my party, when he said he owed me for good advice. We talked about this on the plane. Maybe he's taking what I said seriously, and now Alastair…_ Yugi shook himself alert and gave his helper another smile. "Thanks, I feel a lot better now. I told you, it was just a few cuts."

"Yeah, but you have to take care of those, too." Alastair set the medical supplies on a stand set up beside the gurney and gave Yugi an amiable pat on the knee. "Just sit and rest for a bit. I'm going to go see if there's anything to eat or drink around here."

He ducked out from behind the screen for a moment, just as Roland came back in waving a cell phone in the air. "Good news, Mr. Kaiba!" he crowed. "We've found Mokuba."

Kaiba sat up sharply, nearly throwing off the doctors. "Where is he? Is he all right?"

"He's fine," Roland was happy to report. "I've got a driver on his way down to the school to pick him up right now. He should be here shortly."

Kaiba breathed a soft sigh and sat back in relief, finally relenting and letting the medical personnel finish doing their respective jobs. "Good," he muttered. "Have him brought straight in here when he arrives. I want to make sure he's not hurt either." He shot a quick look to Yugi in the other corner, who sat looking weary and alone as he rested against the backrest of the gurney. "And get _him_ some real help," he grumbled to Roland. "I don't want him leaving here if he's got some kind of concussion or something."

"I'll try to find someone right away," Roland promised.

"When he's been cleared to go, we'll need to set up a driver to take him home," Kaiba mused. "Have the driver bringing Mokuba stay on call for me."

"Will do, sir."

Alastair drifted back in just as Roland was leaving, and tried not to glance in Kaiba's direction as he crossed to Yugi and handed him a bottle of water. "Sorry, this is all that's available," he shrugged.

"That's more than enough, thank you," Yugi said, reaching up to accept the water. "You were the one flying the helicopter, weren't you?"

"What, earlier?" Alastair glanced furtively away. "Uh…yeah. Kind of a crazy idea, wasn't it?"

"You got help to me and Kaiba," Yugi pointed out. "Thank you. You didn't have to tell me you're a changed man, I can see it in the way you've been helping out. I'm glad."

The chaos and noise of their private space cleared away, then, as the doctors had finished setting Kaiba's arm properly and left him to himself as he requested of them. He sat on the gurney with boots and coat off, flexing his fingers where they stuck out of the cast now securely binding his forearm. Now that they were alone, Alastair decided to go to him, to assure himself of Seto's condition if nothing else. Yugi watched silently from across the room, sucking at the water bottle, as Kaiba glanced up when Alastair came to his side. "Hey," the tall foreigner began.

"Hey," Kaiba said back, his voice unusually quiet. "You're insane, you know that?"

"The helicopter?" Alastair chanced a grin. "We didn't know you weren't hovering near death, we just wanted to get medical aid to you."

"Right. And I'm sure Roland put you up to it." Kaiba sighed shortly and looked down at his arm. "Thanks."

Alastair shrugged it off. "Chalk it up to good timing. You're lucky I was downtown, instead of at my hotel." He stepped a little closer to the gurney. "I heard your assistant. Mokuba's coming?"

Kaiba nodded. "They say he's fine, but I won't be satisfied until I see for myself. He's better off here with me anyway."

Alastair's gaze wandered. "Do you want me to go before he gets here?"

Kaiba looked sharply at him, his brow creasing with an unpleasant frown. "Why should you?"

"I'm pretty sure you haven't told him about us, yet…"

Kaiba sighed even more heavily. "What 'us?'" he muttered. "It was just that one time…"

"Two times. And would have been tonight, I'm guessing," Alastair said sharply, "if not for this little disaster. Look." He softened his tone, and his expression. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little rattled right now. I had a strange feeling go through my heart when your assistant told me you were hurt. I know it's nothing serious, but even so…"

"Alastair…" Seto stared absently at his hands in his lap for a moment or two, not sure why he wanted to say what was on his mind just now. "You're right. I did want to see you tonight. But, you should know…" His voice dropped in volume, but remained the same even, moody Kaiba tone as usual. "I may have feelings for someone else. A girl, a duelist. We chat online sometimes. I don't know for sure…" He glanced up at Alastair, expecting some kind of reaction. "I'm kind of new to this."

"It's okay," Alastair said flatly. "I already knew not to expect my feelings to be reciprocated. You're the only one who can make decisions about who you like." He tried to smile. "A girl, huh?"

Kaiba groaned under his breath, already regretting saying it. "A former rival. But she's in England, and I don't know the first thing about her except that she likes to flirt with me."

"At least she's got good taste." Kaiba snorted at the indirect compliment. Alastair reached out to him, then, gingerly touching the back of his injured hand. "I'm not going to fight for you, if you don't want it. But we have fun together, and I…I guess…" He found himself absently stroking Kaiba's hand, across the knuckles where they stuck out from the cast, and kept his eyes on his actions as he spoke. "Against my better judgement, I've developed this sense of caring for you, and if all I can do is make you happy for short spaces of time whenever we come into contact, then…I'm okay with that."

Kaiba sat still, submitting to the gentle touch on the back of his hand. "I can't promise you anything," he muttered, "positive or negative."

"You don't have to." Alastair shook his head slowly. "When you want to see me, you'll call me. I don't expect anything more than that. At least, until you figure out what it is you want."

Seto nodded his agreement. "Thanks, though. For your help."

There was a rustle on the far side of the privacy screen, and Alastair deftly took a step away, withdrawing his hand in time. Roland peeked back. "Mr. Kaiba, the driver just called to let me know he's on his way. Mokuba will be here in a few minutes."

"Thank you, Roland." As soon as he was gone, somehow Alastair was right back where he started, resting his hand on the padded gurney beside Kaiba's knee. Seto peered at him. "You said you were going to be in town a while?"

"Till the end of the week," Alastair replied casually. "I'm supposed to wait around for another package to be prepared, and pick it up when they call me. I think I'm going to Texas this time."

"Oh, wonderful," Kaiba retorted with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. "I'm sure it'll be fun."

"Hey, I don't always get to pick my destinations." He gave Kaiba a little smirk. "Though the fact that I'm the only courier in the company who speaks Japanese means I'm pretty much on the short list for all deliveries here."

Kaiba met his gaze upon hearing that, and a brief look passed between them, but then a commotion outside the private corner got their attention. Alastair stepped back just in time as Mokuba burst through the curtain, dragging his backpack behind him. "Big brother!" he yelped as soon as he came within sight of Seto. "What happened? Are you all right? The stupid driver! He told me you were hurt but he didn't say how badly."

"Calm down," Kaiba said curtly, sitting up a bit. Alastair wisely slinked off to the corner where Yugi sat as the lone witness to their conversation and the moment of Kaiba's vulnerability. "I'm all right, Mokuba. It's just a broken arm."

He held out the cast for his brother to see. Mokuba stared at it, and then directly at him as if to study him and make sure he wasn't kidding. "That's it? You're okay?"

"I've got a little cut on my head too, but yes, that's it. I'm fine." He swung his feet around so they were hanging off the side of the gurney, making to get up eventually. "Are you all right? Did you get hurt in any way?"

"No, I'm fine," Mokuba assured. "I ducked under my desk when the earthquake started, like they tell us to. It's not so bad over by my school – the damage is a lot worse downtown. Man, the electricity's out, the cell phones are down…I tried to call you."

"I know, so did I," Kaiba said calmly. "It's all right, it's over now. We're going home."

Mokuba nodded gratefully, but then noticed that there were other people behind the privacy screen with his brother. Yugi, sitting on the gurney, didn't surprise him, but his eyes went straight to the other, taller figure and widened. He knew that face, it was clear from his reaction. "Wait," he said, "what is he doing here?"

Alastair stood motionless, looking as calm as he knew how. Kaiba glanced over at him, and then faced his brother. "You remember Alastair," he said plainly.

"Yeah, of course I do," Mokuba said hesitantly. "But why is he here?"

Both men looked and met each other's gaze, momentarily frozen when neither knew how to react. Yugi politely looked away and tried not to pay attention. At last, Kaiba's gaze hardened into a firm, assured look. "He and I were supposed to go out tonight," he answered truthfully, his voice even. "Alastair is the man I spent the night with before, a few months ago. The one I told you about. He's only in town for a short time, but we were to see each other again."

Yugi turned back quickly, his eyes wide. Alastair, too, stared in astonishment, finding it hard to believe that Kaiba just gave his little brother an honest answer without covering it up. Mokuba looked back and forth between the two of them, and then turned to Alastair. "Really?"

Alastair nodded. "It's true. But, thanks to the earthquake, I don't think we're going to get to go out. I was nearby, I came to help."

"He saved our lives," Yugi added quietly. "Kaiba is okay now, thanks to Alastair's help."

Kaiba scowled uncomfortably at the reminder, he didn't need Yugi's help in this matter. Mokuba gazed in interest at Alastair, and then smiled strongly. "Thank you," he said. "So…you're the one who made my big brother smile for a few days, then?"

Alastair's eyes went to Kaiba in curiosity. Kaiba decided that was enough honesty for now. "That's all you need to know," he said curtly to Mokuba. "Come on, now. Find my boots, I want to get out of here. And get Roland – I want a doctor to clear me to leave."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Alastair wondered.

"I'm fine." Mokuba handed him his boots from where they had been sitting on the other side of the gurney, but Seto realized after a second that it would be difficult to put them on with only one useful arm. Mokuba determined that he could help, so Alastair slipped out of the privacy curtain and went to find the head doctor in the infirmary. Yugi just sat back again, taking another sip of water, not sure what he should do now that he had sat in on private personal conversations, gotten in the way, and generally had nothing to do. He wondered if his grandpa was all right, and whether the shop was damaged. At last, a comment from Kaiba got his attention. "Yugi. Do you need my doctors to look at you?"

Yugi lifted his gaze and blinked uncertainly. "I…don't know," he answered. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

Alastair returned with the doctor, who briefly consulted the company president and decided he couldn't stop him from leaving if he wanted, but he asked Kaiba to wait one moment while he found a sling for his arm. Kaiba then demanded he go and check Yugi, and sat waiting until the physician declared that the young man was perfectly fine, now that his cuts were dressed and he had gotten some water. Kaiba accepted the diagnosis with a curt nod. "Fine. Roland!"

The assistant peeped his head in from behind the curtain. "Yes sir?"

Kaiba closed his eyes as he gave his last order of the day. "The driver on call. Have him take Yugi home, and then go around to Alastair's hotel and pick up his things."

Surprised looks met him from everyone who heard. "Yes sir, Mr. Kaiba," Roland said deferentially. "And you?"

"When he gets back, we'll be going home," Kaiba grumbled. "I need to rest. See to it that everyone is escorted out of the building, either home or to the hospital, and security closes the place up until we can get survey crews in to assess the damage."

"Right away, sir." Roland gestured to Yugi to come with him as he ducked back out.

Yugi paused before leaving. "Thanks, Kaiba."

Kaiba didn't bother to look at him. "When things are back to normal, I'll call you to reschedule our meeting."

"Okay." Yugi and Mokuba wished each other well, and then there was Alastair, waiting quietly in the corner. "Thanks for being there for us," Yugi said to him, giving him a smile and not sure what other blessings to wish upon him, being as he was apparently going home with Kaiba. Alastair just nodded with a little smile.

"Yugi." Kaiba's voice was rough as he spoke up one last time. "What you heard spoken in here is Kaiba family business."

"Don't worry," Yugi assured him over his shoulder. "I don't plan on saying a word." He shared a nod with Kaiba to seal the deal, and then he was gone, chasing after Roland to find the driver who would be finally taking him home.

Alastair folded his arms. "Am I to take it that you want me going back to your place?" he wondered, a bit suspiciously.

"Your hotel is probably damaged," Kaiba said matter-of-factly. "You can stay with us the rest of the week, until you leave Japan." He gave the young man an aloof sort of look. "Unless you had a better idea."

"Cool!" Mokuba broke in. "It'll be nice to have someone else around to hang out with. How are you doing, Alastair? How's life?"

Alastair looked at him, taken aback that Mokuba should be so casual and forgiving considering that the last time they saw each other, he was trying to kill the younger Kaiba, but he settled for a smile of gratitude. "Just fine, kid. Thanks."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 6

The only good news to be had was that there would be no tsunami warnings or alerts, for those down near the harbor and the seashore. The epicenter of the earthquake was located out to sea, less than a hundred miles from the coast, but the factors that would produce a tsunami were not there. Apart from that, things were not going so well for Tristan and those digging him out of the rubble – or waiting for him to be safe. They had gotten about halfway to him when they hit a major snag, finding that some of the girders that had been part of the warehouse roof had buckled all in the same place, making for a tangled mess that had to be cut out of the way in order to make a space big enough for a man to crawl through. But with the gas leaking into the chamber below, they couldn't risk a welding torch, for fear of starting an explosion. Finding something to cut through steel bars wasted more time, before they even began cutting, and then Tristan was forced to back down from his perch near the air vent so as not to be cut by bits of metal flying back down at him. There was no way of measuring how much gas was in the small chamber, but as time went on the men noticed that it was taking Tristan longer to respond to them when they called out to him, and he sounded tired and a little incoherent. At least the ambulance had shown up, and tended to all the other wounded while they waited to find out the status of the trapped victim. Duke paced restlessly below the debris field, listening anxiously to every shout and curse coming from the construction workers. He wasn't allowed to go back in, to get in the way, so all he could do was pace and fret, alternating with a bit of sitting on the ground and sulking when he got tired. All he could think of was Tristan in there alone, growing steadily worse, and having a good view of the EMTs standing around with their hands on their hips, useless at the moment, didn't help. From the direction of the collapsed building there was a crash and a good, loud curse, and the workers stood back for a bit, scratching under their helmets and wiping their brows. Duke got up and went over to find out what was going on. One of the workers was leaning into the hole they had made, but after a moment he straightened up with a perplexed look. "He's got to be delirious," he commented to the others.

"What, what is it?" Duke begged. "Is Tristan okay?"

"He's babbling on about something, I don't get it," the worker answered. "I asked him if he could hold on a little longer, since it's taking us so long to get the hole big enough, and he started going off about needing to get home and start dinner. He said, 'If I don't do my part Duke's going to get mad at me again. '" He frowned down at the civilian standing at the base of the rubble. "You're Duke, right? What's he talking about?"

Duke sighed. "We're roommates," he offered by way of explanation. "We had a…a bit of a fight the other day about him being too lazy to cook." He stared toward the hole in the rubble, which was now large enough on this end for an average man to stand in. "I thought he just blew me off and didn't care."

The worker shrugged it off. "I'm telling you, he's delirious. The bad air is getting to him."

Duke's gaze hardened, his green eyes glittering. "You have to help him! What's the use of digging him out if he's going to die anyway? We have to try to help him! Hasn't anyone figured out how to turn the gas off?"

"That's up to the gas company," the foreman said curtly. "We don't have that authorization."

Duke rounded on him and nearly cursed him out, but the emergency workers standing nearby came over, having heard everything. "How much farther do you have to go to get to him?" one asked.

"We're about halfway," one of the workers replied. "The hole's barely big enough for someone skinny to wiggle into, but Tristan isn't going to fit through it."

"Do you think you can get anyone in there who can pass something to him?" the medic went on. "Like an oxygen mask?"

"I can," Duke immediately spoke up. "I got in there once, and the hole's bigger now."

"Hey, kid," the foreman warned him, "I'm not going to let you go in there and risk your life. You shouldn't even be here, I don't care if you are Taylor's roommate."

"I can do it." Duke clenched a fist. "And I'd like to see you try to stop me."

The medical personnel were willing to let him give it a try, and prepped him well to go into the excavated hole with oxygen for Tristan. They brought the tank as close to the rubble as they dared and would run the tube through the hole down into the chamber, giving the workers yet another thing to work around as they dug. One of the construction workers offered Duke his gloves, in case he ran into any sharp edges as he climbed in, but he waved them off. The workers gathered around, one medic among them, to help Duke climb head-down into the hole, grabbing a hold of his legs to keep him from sliding all the way. He kept one arm curled into his chest to protect the mask, stretching out his other hand to feel his way. The more of his body – and the other worker's arms – that entered the hole, the less light he would have to see by. "Tristan!" he called out ahead of him. "Can you hear me? Reach up if you can hear me, man!"

Though his senses were growing hazy, Tristan could hear the shout and raised his head. He had been thinking about Duke would say when he found out he lost his shirt in the earthquake when he realized that the voice was not a part of his delirium. "Duke?" he wondered, crawling carefully back up toward the hole that was his only contact with the outside. Not as much light was falling down to him through it, and he blinked to see the reason. "Hey!" he called back, mustering his fleeting concentration. "Is that you? What the hell?"

"Tristan!" Duke shouted again. "You need to reach up to me, buddy! I have something for you."

"Now's not the time for presents," Tristan said wearily.

Duke caught his breath as his feet slipped out of someone's hands and he felt himself lurch downward, but he braced himself with his hand even though it tore up the skin of his palm. "I beg to differ," he retorted. Tristan's head came into view at the end of the tunnel, which was much closer now than before. He could get his head and maybe one arm up into it, but any more of his body would get stuck, particularly his muscular chest. Duke broke into a relieved grin when he saw him, even though he noticed the hazy look in his eyes. "Can you reach me?"

Tristan blinked at him, and then hauled himself up enough to reach out. His hand fell solidly onto Duke's outstretched arm. "How's that?"

Duke nodded, and then brought out the bundle held in his other arm. "Here, take this. The EMT guys wanted me to get it to you. It's fresh air, it'll help."

He presented the oxygen mask, cautiously untangling the tube that ran from it underneath him and back out the hole. Tristan took it and immediately put it on, throwing away his dirty t-shirt and remaining there, half into the hole, taking deep breaths to fill his lungs with pure oxygen. At last, he was able to look up to Duke with clearer eyes. "Thanks, man…"

Duke pushed himself further in, just enough to be able to place his hand on Tristan's cheek. "I love you," he whispered, his eyes swimming, and then he was suddenly being pulled back, his hand still reaching desperately for Tristan even as the workers dragged him out. Tristan gazed helplessly after him, and then dropped back down into the chamber to rest, squinting at the light that abruptly spilled back into his tiny space.

The aid workers escorted Duke safely down off the pile of rubble, tending to him to make sure he wasn't hurt and giving him water, which he accepted as much as he wanted to throw all of them off and go storm away to pout somewhere private. He sat down at their urging and just watched and waited, his shirt and face completely dirty now, sweat running from under his headband. At least he had been able to see for himself that they weren't far now, pretty soon someone would be able to get in there and get Tristan out. At least the oxygen would do him some good.

Tristan settled to a seat on the edge of a metal beam and leaned back against the jagged wall, closing his eyes and breathing as slowly and deeply as he could. The oxygen cleared his head, though he was already weakened and didn't know if it would be a permanent solution. They had to get him out, and soon, or he would be overcome despite the medical aid. In his mind's eye he could see Duke's anxious face, and his imagination kept replaying the soft words of love over and over, until Tristan winced and tears snuck out from under his eyelids and ran down his face. He had to hold on, for no other reason than to keep Duke from making that scared face ever again.

The day was getting long and people were getting very tense when at last, with a collective cheer, the workers deepest in the dig pushed one last beam aside and caused it to shift a large section of debris, making a clear path at last. Dust, dirt, and rubble cascaded down on top of Tristan, but he was so weak he could barely look up to figure out where it was coming from. One burly worker wedged himself into the gap and shouldered an unstable beam, making it possible for the others to climb into the chamber, though the level of gas inside made them all start coughing. "Hurry!" one called, "get him out of here before we all die!"

Tristan barely moved, and only glanced up as his coworkers came to his side, picking him up and bracing his arms over their shoulders. If not for the oxygen mask over his face, he would have been dead, but they weren't going to take it easy now that they had him. They passed him from one to another up the tunnel, and then helped each other out behind him one by one, until the medics waiting at the top were able to grab Tristan under his arms and haul him bodily out of the hole. Everyone from the job site was still waiting around to find out his fate, none of them had gone home except the badly injured, and they all broke into applause when they saw his head appear out of the rubble. Duke was already on his feet, and choked back his emotions as he ran forward to meet him. The EMTs pushed him aside, though, bringing Tristan directly to a stretcher and swarming around him to work. "Please!" Duke yelled at them. "Let me see him! I want to know he's okay!"

"We need to get him to the hospital," one medic told him. "You can follow us there."

Growling, Duke relented, stepping back to let them do their work. Even as they were wheeling Tristan into the ambulance, he was running across the dusty ground to the parking lot, and sped right behind them all the way across the city to the hospital. Enough time had gone by, he figured by now the phones might actually be working, and tried every number in his friends list until he finally got through on one. The desk phone at Kame game shop rang, startling Grandpa, who was busy sweeping broken glass into one pile in the middle of the floor. Duke started when his call was actually answered. "Hey, it's Duke," he said. "Is Yugi there?"

"No, I'm sorry, Duke," Grandpa answered. "Yugi went out before the earthquake and I haven't heard back from him yet."

Another pang of fear stole through Duke's heart. "What? I don't believe it. Where did he go? Is he okay?"

"I don't know," Grandpa said sadly. "He had a meeting at KaibaCorp, that's all I know. All the lines have been busy, and I can't get through to anyone there."

Duke steered wildly with one hand while he held the phone, amazingly keeping pace with the ambulance even while distracted. "Oh no. Have you heard from anyone, at all?"

"No, you're the first who's gotten through. Is everything all right? I hear sirens…"

"I'm on the road," Duke explained. "Well, here. Can you take a message for me, for when Yugi gets back? I'm sure he's okay, I mean…well, anyway."

"Of course, Duke," Grandpa said patiently. "What is it?"

Having to muster the words to say it hurt, for some reason. "I'm on my way to the hospital. Tristan was hurt pretty bad, the building he was in collapsed and he was trapped. Tell Yugi, and tell him if he needs to he can call me on my cell – it's working fine. Hopefully, by the time he gets back I'll be able to let him know how Tristan's doing."

"I will do that, Duke," Grandpa Muto promised. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Duke muttered. "I better go, I'm driving like a maniac."

"All right. Give Tristan our best wishes when you see him. We'll be waiting for more news."

"Okay." Duke clicked off his phone and tossed it on the seat beside him, putting both hands on the steering wheel in order to control himself just a little, so as not to need to go to the hospital himself. His mind was racing, though – Yugi was out of contact, he could be hurt too. The last thing Duke needed was more of his friends in danger, but for now he had to focus on just one – there wasn't enough time to worry about them all.

Joey sat quietly at Bakura's side for a long time, his cell phone cradled in his hands so he could see the display. It was not getting a signal, but the instant it did, he wanted to know so he could call Mai, and then see who else he could get a hold of. He needed to tell them he was fine, and what was taking him so long, but he also had to know that they were likewise all right. Bakura lay unconscious for a good long while after being brought to the triage, but at last Joey heard him moan softly, and looked to see brown eyes slowly blinking open and squinting against the light. Joey set aside his phone and leaned over him. "Bakura? You awake now, man?"

Ryo winced and turned his head toward the voice. "Joey," he realized after a moment. "What…?" A throb of pain in his head cut him off, making him groan and cover his eyes.

"It's okay, Bakura. Just rest. You got knocked out pretty good, there." Joey looked around them, then, and finally noticed the nearest medical worker, rising a little from his chair and waving an arm in the air. "Hey! Hey, my friend is awake, now!" he called out. "Can you come take a look at him?"

Ryo managed to fight against the ache in his head and look up as Joey sat back down beside him. "Where am I?" he sighed weakly.

"In the commons," Joey answered, "they set up a medical center here for the students. A lot of people got hurt in the earthquake." He gazed concernedly down at Ryo. "You okay? Do you remember what happened?"

"Vaguely," Ryo whimpered. "I remember something hitting me…and I thought I saw you, but I wasn't sure. Oh…my head…"

"Easy there," Joey implored. "Don't squirm around until the doctors can get a look at you. Oh…" He reached down beneath the cot and tugged his bag out, turning it so Bakura could see it. "I took your Ring off, in case they needed to examine you. I didn't want it in the way. Is that okay?"

Ryo blinked uncomfortably at the Millennium Item gleaming in the depths of the backpack. "Yes," he hesitantly replied, "that's fine. Thank you, Joey."

Joey peered worriedly at him. "Why'd you have it on you, anyway?"

He looked away. "I've been doing research," he answered slowly, taking time to choose his words, "on symbolism in rituals and superstition. This project I'm helping out with…it's about unknown symbols in Egyptian rituals, and I thought…I thought I had come across something about the Eye and the Millennium Items…I wanted to compare the Ring to the images I saw in pictures, but…I don't know, now." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No matter. I'm fine. As long as it's not damaged."

"No, it's okay." The medic came over, then, and conveniently enough, at the same moment Joey's cell phone startled him by ringing. He looked to see that it finally had a signal, and not too soon. He took the call while the medic examined Bakura and asked him a few questions about his health. "Yeah? Mai!" Joey turned away so as not to disturb the patient. "Where are you, are you okay? What, no, I'm fine. Seriously. I'm at the university. Oh, it's pretty bad. What about you?"

"I'm fine," Mai said on her end, as she stood looking out a cracked window at the city. "The office is a mess but we're all okay. But there's no way anything is getting done here, now. You can come and get me, right?"

"In a bit," Joey promised. "I'm here with Bakura, he got hurt and I'm just waiting with him to see if he's okay. But as soon as I can get out of here, I'm coming to get you, all right? Hey, have you heard from anyone else?" The answer made his face fall. "Ah, no, I haven't either. Your call is the first one that got through to me. Okay, just hold tight. I'll be there in a little while. Okay? Yeah, love you." He clicked the phone off, glad to see that it was working at last, and then put it away to find out how it was going with Bakura.

"And you're sure you're not hurt otherwise?" the medic was in the process of asking. "Everything checks out?"

"Yes, I think so," Ryo replied softly, a hand clasped protectively to the front of his shirt, which had been unbuttoned to let the medic listen to his heart. "I just want to rest."

"So, how is he?" Joey asked.

The medic sat back and put away his tools. "He has a mild concussion, but that's it. A few bumps and bruises, but those don't need immediate attention. I'd say you're also dehydrated," he added toward Ryo. "You should get some water, and don't move around too much. As long as you're feeling all right to stand, I don't need to send you to the hospital, but you should be careful."

"I got us some bottled water," Joey offered. There were, in fact, two bottles sitting under the cot by the backpack. "Anything else I can do?"

The medic pondered it, and looked at Bakura. "I would prefer it if you were able to go where someone could look after you."

"I'll be fine," Ryo insisted. "A concussion just requires rest, doesn't it?"

The medic nodded. "I'll sign you out on one condition. If you feel faint at all, or dizzy, or lose consciousness again even for a second, you'll go straight to the emergency room. All right?"

"Yes, sir," Ryo agreed. "If anything changes, I'll call for help."

"That will do." The man scribbled an abbreviated version of his instructions on the clipboard he had with him, signed it, and gave a copy to Bakura. "Drink lots of water, re-hydrate yourself. And if you can get anybody to stay with you, it would be best." He then excused himself, and went to look after other patients.

Joey set the bottle of water next to Bakura's arm. "Here, before you do anything else."

Sighing, Ryo uncapped the water and sat up enough to drink some of it, though the movement made him dizzy. He closed his eyes and sat still for a while, until he could move without wanting to fall over. "Thank you, Joey," he breathed. "I owe you my life."

"Nah," Joey assured, "it's all right. I was on my way out when I saw you go down, I couldn't just leave you there. You sure you're gonna be okay?"

Ryo nodded feebly. "Yes, I'll be fine with a little rest."

"Well, hey. I've got Mai's car," Joey offered. "I gotta go pick her up, too, but on the way, I'm gonna take you home, okay? If you want, I can come back later and check on you."

Ryo gave him a sweet, sad smile. "Thank you so much…but it's not necessary. Really, Joey, I'll be okay. But I appreciate the ride home, thank you."

"Okay, suit yourself. But don't say I didn't offer." He let Bakura sit for a while and drink about half the bottle of water before he appeared strong enough to sit fully up, and then Joey helped him to his feet. Clutching the bottle in one hand, Bakura leaned on Joey and allowed himself to be guided carefully through the commons and out to the parking lot, which was a mess of people trying their best to flee the damaged campus. Joey was glad to see that the car was fine, but there wasn't really anything in the vicinity of the parking lot that could fall and hurt it…except for the one light pole that was on top of someone's VW van on the other side of the lot. Ryo settled quietly into the passenger seat with his hands in his lap, cradling the water bottle, and didn't say a word as Joey took him to his apartment not far away. It was a wonder that Joey had been able to dig his backpack out from under all the books and bring it along, so he had everything with him that he needed, and thanked Joey profusely for his help as he let himself into his flat. Joey lingered long enough to be sure that Bakura wasn't looking dizzy and wouldn't fall down when left by himself, before wishing him well and promising to come over if Bakura needed anything. "You have my cell number, now," he added. "I know the connections are iffy, but if things get bad, you call me, okay?"

"All right," Ryo smiled. "I will. Thanks, Joey."

"Anytime, man." He completed his service by handing back the Millennium Ring. "You ought to keep this someplace more safe," he warned.

Ryo held the Ring in both hands but did not put it on, staring uncomfortably at it. "Yes, I will," he murmured. "Oh…" A completely unrelated thought finally came to his fuzzy mind. "If you hear from Yugi, will you tell him I'm all right? I don't want him to worry."

"Yeah, but you know he's going to as soon as I tell him you were knocked out," Joey grinned. "No problem. Any more messages?"

Ryo shook his head. "No, that should do. I'm going to go lie down, now."

"Okay." Joey looked him over one last time to be sure he was all right, and let himself out to go and finally find Mai.

A sleek black car pulled up to the front of Kame game shop, depositing Yugi on the sidewalk and leaving immediately to its other errands. Yugi paused to look around and see what was damaged, noting that the "E" on the end of the sign above the door was hanging a bit askew, but otherwise everything looked fine. He pushed the door open and let himself in, instantly hunting for his grandpa. Fortunately, Grandpa Muto was right there in the shop, already looking towards the door in expectation. He dropped his broom and rushed to his grandson, taking him by the arms. "There you are! I've been so worried!" he scolded, looking him over and seeing the bandages taped to his arms. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm okay," Yugi tiredly said, trying to smile and failing. "I just got cut up a little, by glass. Are you okay, Grandpa?"

"Yes, I'm fine – everything's fine, here." Grandpa eased his grip and gently brushed Yugi's long bangs away from his face to check him over. "How bad is it over by KaibaCorp? I tried to call, but I couldn't get through."

Yugi nodded understandingly. "Yeah, Kaiba couldn't call out either, or I would have asked to use his phone to call you. It's pretty bad. Kaiba and I were trapped in his office for a little while, part of the ceiling collapsed."

"Oh, no," Grandpa fretted, completely ashamed for having even considered lecturing Yugi about calling when he was in trouble. "Oh, no wonder it took so long. Was that Kaiba's car that dropped you off, then?" Yugi just nodded. Grandpa rubbed his hand cautiously on Yugi's upper arm, where there were no cuts. "You look tired, you should go rest. Don't worry about the clean up, I've got most of it already taken care of. Where is your nice blue shirt?"

Yugi made a pained face. "I…sort of lost it," he murmured. "I needed something to stop Kaiba's bleeding…"

"Oh my." Grandpa Muto frowned. "Is he all right?"

"Yeah…mostly. We got out okay."

Grandpa nodded curtly to himself. "Yes, you go straight upstairs right now and go lie down. You're a mess."

Yugi didn't quite move to do so, looking around the shop at the broken display cases. "Have you heard from anyone? Joey, Tristan, anybody?"

"Oh, yes…Duke called, a little while ago." Grandpa sobered considerably. "He hasn't been able to get a hold of anyone else either. He asked me to tell you that…Tristan is in the hospital, he was hurt at his job. And you're supposed to call Duke on his cell phone to find out any updates."

Yugi's brow creased in concern. "Oh, no…Tristan…" He glanced toward the phone with a little groan. "I don't know if I remember Duke's cell number…"

Just then, the chime at the door rang to announce a customer, though Grandpa had put the "closed" sign out and wasn't expecting anyone. They both looked to see Joey and Mai come in, the blond youth in a huff as he raced to find Yugi. Seeing him right there in front of him made him break out with a cry of relief. "You _are_ here!" he exclaimed. "Thank goodness…we drove past KaibaCorp and saw all the windows broken out and stuff, and all I could think about was you having that appointment…"

He charged straight in and grabbed Yugi around the shoulders, hugging him. Yugi rested his head on Joey's shoulder with a sigh of relief. "Joey," he said in return. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been all over," Joey grumbled. "I had to pick up Mai, but that was after finally getting off the university campus and taking Bakura home…"

"Bakura!" Yugi exclaimed. "You saw him at the university?"

Joey told the full story right there, and as predicted, Yugi looked extremely worried and saddened to hear their friend had been hurt. "He said he didn't want anyone to stick around, though, so I let him be and came to get Mai," he explained. "And since neither of us heard from anybody, we decided to swing by here in case you were back or Grandpa knew where you were."

"I'm glad," Yugi said. "I had no idea what was going on, I only just got back from KaibaCorp myself."

"What happened to your arm?" Mai asked him, noticing the bandages.

"Just…got cut on some glass." Yugi curled his arms defensively around himself. "I'm okay. It was just…a bit of an ordeal, I'm glad we all got out all right. But Grandpa said Duke called…Tristan's in the hospital."

Joey's brown eyes went cold, and Mai gave a little gasp. "Tristan," Joey repeated. "What else did he say?"

Yugi deferred to his grandfather, who had actually taken the message. "Duke was on his way there when he called," he said, "he didn't leave any details. But he wants you to call him to find out how Tristan is doing."

Yugi looked worriedly at Joey. "Do you know his cell phone number?"

"Yeah, it's in my phone." Joey took it out of his pocket to call, but either the connections were down again or Duke was indisposed, for it went to his voice mail. Joey left a message saying they were all at Yugi's, but that was all he could do. He turned his attention back to Yugi. "Is everything okay? Doesn't look like the shop got it too bad."

"I think so." Yugi smiled faintly at his Grandpa. "I haven't really gotten to look around yet, I'm sure my room's a mess. But I don't think we're damaged here."

"That's good."

They stood around for a short time trading stories, though Yugi was reluctant to tell his in great detail and omitted large parts, especially the unexpected appearance of Alastair. Grandpa went back to picking things up off the shop floor, as talk returned to Tristan and wondering how long it was going to take Duke to get his message. "We probably shouldn't all crowd in on him," Mai mused wisely. "The hospitals are going to be packed as it is, a bunch of visitors trying to get in to see one person wouldn't help matters."

"I suppose you're right," Yugi sighed. "We should wait until we hear from Duke. Maybe Tristan's okay, and he'll be back home later tonight. We can see him then."

"Yeah, we'll let the doctors do their work and take care of him, we'll see him when he gets home," Joey agreed. "Tristan's tough. It's gonna take more than a little earthquake to mess him up."

Yugi glanced at him with a little smile, easily seeing through his tough confidence – inside, Joey was just as scared as Yugi that their best friend had gotten himself in serious trouble this time. Even Mai seemed to sense it, for she took Joey's hand and caressed it comfortingly. "We should probably let Yugi and his grandpa clean up," she advised. "And I want to see how bad our place is. Either way, we're all better off at home right about now."

"Yeah, good idea. Yug…" Joey clapped him heartily on the shoulder. "You take care of yourself, now. Whoever hears from Duke first, calls the other, right?"

"Right, Joey." Yugi saw them out the door, locking it behind them to make the "closed" sign mean something.

Grandpa came up behind him and touched him on the shoulder. "You go on upstairs, now," he kindly advised. "You've had a rough day."

"Okay, Grandpa." Yugi finally acquiesced and trudged up the stairs, finding that a number of things had been knocked over or fallen off shelves in their home. He walked around for a bit picking things up and putting them back in their rightful places, hardly even considering what he was doing, until the phone rang. He picked it up as he walked past and halted in place when he heard Duke's voice. "Duke! There you are…"

"Yeah, sorry," Duke muttered unhappily, "they made me turn my phone off while they were examining Tristan."

"Is he okay?" Yugi immediately asked in a panic. "Please, Duke, tell me he wasn't hurt badly…"

"I think he's going to be all right," Duke calmly answered. "Your grandpa give you my message, right?"

"Yeah, but you didn't say what happened to Tristan…"

"Ah. Well, the building collapsed on him," Duke said, "he was trapped inside it most of the day and there was a gas leak. He wasn't hurt by the collapse, but the gas fumes might have done a number on him." He glanced over his shoulder at the bed. "They're checking him for brain damage right now…"

The doctor overseeing Tristan's care had examined him physically, but now needed to ask him a series of inane questions to verify that his memory and comprehension were not affected by breathing in so much gas. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Tristan Taylor," he sighed.

"What year is it?"

Tristan's lips twitched with suppressed humor as he tried to keep a straight face. "1865."

The doctor stared at him. "And…who is the prime minister?"

"Mickey Mouse," Tristan answered proudly.

Duke smacked him hard in the arm, making him yelp and then pout. "He's fine," he said flatly to both the doctor and Yugi.

"Really?" Yugi asked hopefully. "He doesn't have any brain damage?"

"No more than he already had." That comment earned Duke a stuck-out tongue. He smirked back. The doctor shook his head and resumed the regular examination, satisfied that this passed for "normal" for Tristan.

"Oh, that's good," Yugi said in relief. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, nothing happened to me. What about you?"

"Nothing serious."

"Is your shop a mess, too?"

"Not terrible. Why, is yours?"

Duke sighed in aggravation. "It's going to take at least a whole day to clean up. Oh well. I'm going to be home with an invalid anyway."

"Excuse me," Tristan retorted. "I am sitting right here, you know."

"Okay. Well…make sure you call Joey and let him know Tristan's okay," Yugi implored. "He wants to know, too."

"Hey," Tristan whispered over Duke's shoulder as the doctor stepped aside, "let me talk to him."

"All right, geez. Hey, Yugi," Duke said into the phone. "Tristan wants to talk to you."

Yugi's knees went weak, and he flopped down onto the nearest chair as the phone was passed. Then Tristan's voice, cheery as ever but a bit raw, came over the line. "Hey, Yugi. You can stop worrying, now."

"Tristan!" Yugi caught the rush of emotion in his throat and swallowed it. "What did they say? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," his friend assured casually. "They're gonna keep me overnight for observation, though. On account of the gas fumes and all, you know."

"That makes sense," Yugi agreed. "My thoughts are with you, but because of the earthquake and everything, I don't think we're going to try to make it down there to see you tonight. I bet the hospital's full."

"Yeah, kind of. I'm in a room with like, three other people," Tristan complained. "That's a real smart idea, Yugi. Much as I want to see you guys and prove to you that I'm okay."

"We'll come see you when you're home, all right?" Yugi promised. "They're letting you out tomorrow?"

"Should, as long as nothing weird happens overnight." Tristan glanced up as Duke came back to his side, having discussed Tristan's condition and the hospital stay with the doctor. "I'll have Duke give you a call when we get home, you can come visit me then.

"Okay." Yugi smiled weakly to himself. "It's good to hear your voice."

"I'm glad you're okay. Joey's okay?"

"Yeah, Joey and Mai are just fine."

"Good." Tristan glanced aside as Duke folded his arms, looking impatient. "All right, I should go. They want me to rest or something. Take care of yourself, buddy."

"Yeah, you too, Tristan." Yugi took a deep breath as he heard the phone being passed again, and then Duke was back on the line. "Thanks, Duke…for calling."

"No problem," Duke said brightly. "Yeah, the doctor just told me they're gonna keep Tristan overnight, but I can come back and pick him up in the morning. You and Joey should come and see us, after we get home."

"Sure," Yugi said. "We'll want to hear all about it. It's been a crazy day for all of us."

"No kidding." Duke reached out and laid his hand on Tristan's head as he wrapped up the call. "I'm gonna give Joey a call, now, and give him the news. We'll talk to you tomorrow, all right?"

"All right. Tell Tristan I said goodnight."

"Will do. Bye, Yugi."

"Bye…"

Almost immediately after setting the phone back in its cradle, Yugi heard the deep voice in the back of his mind speaking softly. "Yugi, please…lie down and rest, now, and let me take care of you."

A sweet pang of relief stung Yugi's heart. "That's the best idea I've heard all day," he said out loud to himself, stumbling through the living room to the hall and closing himself away in his bedroom. It was indeed a mess, his bookshelf had tipped over and the pictures had fallen off his wall, but he didn't bother to pick any of it up. Without even changing out of his dusty clothing, he fell onto his bed and curled up on his side, the Puzzle bouncing a little on the rumpled bedspread as it fell beside him. Yugi closed his eyes and almost immediately fell into the accustomed trance, his weary mind fading into blackness and reawakening inside his gateway room in the Puzzle's world. He had barely been there for the space of a heartbeat when the door to the opposite side flew open and Yami came straight in looking for him. The tears he had been stifling all day broke through at last, and Yugi rushed to meet him, falling into his arms with great, heaving breaths. Yami caught him and lowered them both to their knees, holding him close as he sobbed out every conflicting and painful emotion that had been tugging his heart this way and that – fear, relief, anxiety, depression, uncertainty. The pharaoh held him securely, saying nothing, allowing him to let go of it all in his own way. Yugi clung to him desperately, burying his face in Yami's shoulder. "I've been trying so hard all day to keep my brave face on," he whimpered, "but I can't do it anymore. I hate earthquakes! I hate them, I always have. The ground's not supposed to shake, it's supposed to be firm! I was so scared, Yami…but Kaiba needed my help and I couldn't just hide and leave him bleeding. . ."

"It's all right," Yami soothed, his voice at its most calming and deep. He rubbed his hands across Yugi's back as he held him. "You don't have to be brave, nothing says you do. You're here now, you're safe. You can rest here in my arms and forget the world, all right? I will protect you, Yugi."

Yugi seemed to accept that, giving another little sob and pressing his face into Yami's shoulder, his hands clenching tighter on the pharaoh's shirt. Yami knelt there for a long time and simply held him, occasionally nuzzling his ear or rubbing his back comfortingly, until Yugi's jumble of emotions exhausted themselves and faded away, leaving him quiet and limp. Then, Yami got to his feet and pulled Yugi along with him, still encircling him in protective arms. "Do you want to come with me, into the Puzzle?"

Yugi sniffled and wiped away the tears still on his eyelashes. "Um…I still haven't eaten, since this morning," he mumbled, "but I'm not really hungry. I just want to go to bed."

"Then, come with me," Yami encouraged. "You can take refuge in the Puzzle, with me."

"Can I sleep with you?" Yugi begged, lifting innocent eyes to his partner.

The pharaoh's smile softened. "Of course you can," he said gently. "If ever there was a time you needed a dreamless sleep, it's today." He kept an arm around Yugi to guide him along, through the door and across the corridor to the realm of the Puzzle, to his mind and the special room that existed within it only for them to share. Yugi appeared here just as shaken and worn out as on the outside, and didn't even say a word as Yami brought him into their room just past the chamber of recent memory, submitting to his partner's better judgement. He stood still and barely raised his arms to help as Yami lifted off his tank top, and leaned against the side of the bed to let him remove his pants and socks. He sat there blankly as Yami prepared himself to get into bed, and willingly climbed in with him under the perfect sheets enclosed within the canopy bed. Yugi curled up against Yami and fastened his arms tightly around his middle, already closing his eyes to sleep. The pharaoh's spirit hugged him to himself, lifting a hand in order to comb through Yugi's tangled, drooping bangs. "Sleep, now, my love," he whispered over him. "You don't have to be brave anymore, rest in my protection. I'll watch over you."

Yugi whimpered in his throat and hugged him tighter, nestling his head comfortably against Yami's chest and settling down to sleep. In moments, he was out, passing easily into the dark, dreamless slumber he could only achieve by letting his mind fall asleep inside the Puzzle. Yami laid awake beside him for a long time, brushing the hair back from his face and stroking his tear-stained cheeks with a fingertip. _So soft, so vulnerable_ , he said to himself, _so sweet and brave. He did so well today, I know what it took for him to be that strong in front of Kaiba and not go to pieces. I love you, my dear Yugi_. He curled his arms around his frail partner and held him close, nosing aside the lock of hair that draped over his forehead in order to press a kiss there. Eventually, his spirit was also able to sleep.

Once the doctors finally left them alone and they were able to pull a curtain to shield them from the other patients in the room, Duke sat by Tristan's side well into the evening, needing to hold his hands and feel and see for himself that he was going to be all right. He had pulled a chair over to allow him to be right beside the bed, and sat with his arms stretched out holding both of Tristan's hands wrapped in both of his as they talked. "It's fine," he assured his partner for the millionth time. "I called, the managers had everything under control. They said they were going to double-check one more time and then lock up and leave for the night, they already called tomorrow's staff and told them not to come in unless they wanted to help clean up." He lifted his eyes to Tristan's face. "I told you. They can handle it, they don't need me there."

"But it's your store, dumbass," Tristan said in exasperation. "You should be there. I'm fine, there's nothing you can do here to help me get better…"

"I don't have to do anything to help," Duke argued. "I just want to be here with you. Is that so bad?"

Tristan's smile softened. "No, it's not," he relented. "I'd rather have you here, but I don't want to be keeping you from taking care of your store."

"You're more important to me than the store," Duke said firmly.

"Okay," Tristan agreed, "but you're not staying here tonight. You should go home and get a good night's sleep, so you can come back in the morning and get me. I mean it," he added with a stern look.

Duke gave an aggravated sigh. "All right, fine. But I'm not leaving until I'm damn good and ready, or until they make me."

"Deal." Tristan looked down at their clasped hands, and caressed his thumb across Duke's fingers where they touched. "When I saw you there today, it was like some kind of miracle. I never would have expected in a million years that you'd be the one crawling down in that hole to try to rescue me."

"Yeah, your coworkers kind of thought the same thing," Duke said modestly, "only not the miracle part. But I couldn't stand by helpless. I had to see for myself that you weren't dead."

"You did real good." Tristan sat there absently watching the movement of his thumb, and the way it made the tape holding the IV in his hand wrinkle. "But don't you ever do that again. I don't want you to get hurt for my sake."

With a sigh, Duke lowered his head, all of the fight and all his macho guard deflating out of him. "Then, would you consider my feelings on the same subject?"

Tristan frowned in confusion. "Huh?"

"Tristan…" Duke shook his head slowly, making the long tendrils of hair around his face swing back and forth. "Please don't go back to that job. You have no idea how much I worry about you."

"Duke…" Tristan's hard look melted. "What are you saying?"

His partner's voice lowered, as if to keep this private matter out of prying ears across the room. "Every time you come home at night and tell me about this idiot or that almost doing something to get himself killed, or who got hurt doing what, it just makes it worse. I hate your job; it's dangerous. Every day you go off to work, I'm afraid it's going to be the day I get that inevitable phone call, that something's happened to you."

Tristan squeezed his hands. "But what happened today…Duke, it was an earthquake. Any one of us could have gotten hurt or killed today."

"I'm not talking about today," Duke said, a harsh edge coming into his voice. "I know what happened today wasn't the usual, but the way I felt when they told me you were trapped, and that you might die…" He blinked away the hot rush of emotion, keeping his eyes lowered. "I don't want to feel that way ever again. But at your job, it happens a lot. People get hurt all the time, you tell me that yourself. I don't want it to be you, next time."

With a sigh, Tristan leaned back against the pillows, though he didn't remove his hands from the warm shelter of Duke's. "You've never said anything like this before."

"I didn't want to take it away from you," Duke said morosely. "I know what you're like, you want to have something all your own, something you can be proud of yourself for. But I can't stand it anymore, it's too much." He lifted his gaze at last, focusing worried green eyes on his lover's face. "Please don't go back. You don't have to – the store makes more than enough to support both of us."

Tristan frowned uncomfortably. "I'm not going to quit my job and let you be the breadwinner," he complained. "I don't want to be reduced to just some housewife, twiddling my thumbs around the flat all day while you go out and earn the money."

"And I don't want to do that to you," Duke agreed urgently, "but there's got to be something better than where you are now. You've got to get out of there before you really do get killed."

They stared at each other for a tense moment, and then Tristan looked down at their hands again. "I know," he said heavily. "You're right, it's a dangerous line of work, and I'm surrounded by idiots. I can probably find something more stable if it'll make you feel better." He lifted his head and shot Duke a wary look. "But I'm not just going to quit on the spot. I have to look around first."

Duke cocked a wry half-smile. "Okay, but don't make me nag you." He took a deep breath and sighed it out. "Isn't there anything you always wanted to do with your life? Like, a real career, or a dream or something?"

Tristan shrugged stiffly. "Not really. Considering I always thought I'd do something manly until I could impress the right girl to marry…and now that's not going to happen." He sighed too. "I don't know. I never defined myself by what line of work I wanted to go into. My life is about my friends, and having fun…and now it's about you," he added simply. "And like you said, the shop makes enough for both of us to live on. But I'm not going to sit around the house and be your little trophy wife, I need to get out and be doing something."

"Well, here's your chance." Duke picked his hands up from where they rested in his lap. "Do something fun with your life. Dream something up, do something weird or unexpected. You've got the whole world out there, you don't have to lock yourself in to a low-class construction job just because you didn't go to university and don't think you're smart enough for anything else. _I_ think you are."

Tristan met his gaze over their clasped hands and nodded. "I'll think about it. But I have a few days." He smiled lopsidedly. "I don't think I'll be going back to work for at least a week. Worker's comp. And then…who knows? Maybe I can wrangle something out of them to keep from being in the dangerous part. I'll worry about it later."

"Fine." Duke leaned forward and drew one of Tristan's hands to him, kissing him on the knuckles. "Just don't leave it go too long, or else I'll have to bust your head."

"Aw, come on." Tristan batted his eyes at him. "You wouldn't bust an injured person's head, would you?"

"Only yours."

"Hmf." Tristan dropped his hands and turned his head away to pout. "Go home."

"No." Duke pushed himself up out of the chair and stepped closer to the bed. "Not until I know for sure that you're all right, and nothing's going to happen in the middle of the night if I leave you."

Tristan eyed him. "And just how are you going to do that?"

"Move over." Duke slid gracefully onto the edge of the bed, practically forcing Tristan to scoot to one side to accommodate him. Once he had enough room, he settled down beside Tristan and put his arms around him, leaning back against the upright part of the hospital bed. Tristan decided to give up playing their insolent game and leaned against him, submitting to his closeness and curling one hand around his partner's waist to hold him. Duke reclined against the raised bed and let Tristan rest against him, his head on Duke's chest, as they settled into a comfortable embrace. Tristan felt his lover take a deep breath and let it out slowly, and smiled to himself as they sat in silence like that for a long time, done with the discussions and argument and willing to just keep each other company as night fell around them and only faint light from the waning moon came in through the windows. When at last they disentangled themselves from each other (and Tristan's IV) so Duke could go home and get some sleep like he promised, they leaned in close for a kiss and to whisper "I love you" to each other. And this time, they meant it more than ever before.

No matter how grateful he was to Joey for rescuing him, once Bakura was alone he crawled into bed and slept the rest of the day away, getting up only a couple of times to get something to drink. He had no dizzy spells, nothing more to worry doctors, but he felt weak and preferred to just stay curled up in his bed where he could forget about the disaster. In the middle of the night, however, his cell phone rang, waking him up. It took him a moment or two to realize where the sound was coming from, and then he groped beside him for the phone and squinted at the illuminated display to see who was calling him at this ungodly hour. It said "unknown international," and showed a country code he thought familiar. He decided to answer, tiredly mumbling, "Yes?"

"Ryo?" The voice on the other end sounded anxious, but its familiarity sent a rush of warmth through Bakura, making him sit up. "Oh, thank goodness. I've been trying all day to get through to you. Are you okay?"

"Marik?" Ryo cradled the phone to him, rolling over in bed in order to lay on his stomach. "It is you…"

"Yes, it's me," Marik said warmly. "I heard about the earthquake in Japan on the news. Please tell me you're all right."

"I'm fine," Ryo answered softly, clawing a hand through his disheveled long hair to get it out of his eyes. "You were worried about me?"

"Of course I was, don't be silly," Marik retorted. "Especially when I couldn't get through. The phone lines must be jammed with people trying to contact their loved ones."

"Most likely." Ryo found himself smiling in the darkness. "It's good to hear your voice."

"I know it's late there," Marik said apologetically. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yes, but it's all right," Bakura assured him. "I've been sleeping since I got home…truth be told, I did get hurt, a little."

Marik was immediately all concern and anxiousness. "What happened?"

Bakura rolled back onto his back and settled down to tell him the story, or at least what he could remember, of being pummeled by books and knocked unconscious, and being saved by Joey. It wasn't much of a tale, or so he thought, but Marik listened to every word and tried not to make too many painful noises in reaction. "I'm all right now, though," Ryo added. "The rest has done me a lot of good. My head still kind of hurts, though."

"I would imagine." Marik gave a soft moan of sympathy. "I wish I could be there to take care of you. You're all alone, now."

"It's okay," Ryo said quietly, smiling to himself again. "I'll make it, somehow. It's enough to me that you worried so much that you had to call me."

"It's the least I can do. But I should probably let you sleep, if you got hurt like that," Marik fretted. "You should take care of yourself, and rest. You're not going to school tomorrow, I hope."

"The university is damaged," Ryo said, "I don't think anyone's going to school tomorrow."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Marik's voice became soft and warm. "You should rest, then, and not even think about getting out of bed. I don't want to keep you up too late."

Ryo gazed hazily up at the ceiling as he talked. "Will you call me again tomorrow, when I'm awake?"

"If you'd like me to." Ryo could hear the smile in Marik's voice. "We can really talk, then."

"Yeah. I'd like that."

Marik lowered his tone to a positively romantic purr. "Just imagine I'm there with you right now, lying next to you, holding on to you. If I was there, I would be taking such good care of you. I would wait on you during the day, and then at night, like this, when you needed your rest, I would hold you and stroke your hair until you fell asleep next to me."

Ryo moaned quietly in appreciation, curling up on his side with the phone. "It feels almost like you're here with me, hearing you so close…"

"…and yet, so far away," Marik sighed. "But as long as you're thinking of me, I'll be there with you."

"That will do," Ryo murmured, "for now."

"Go back to sleep," Marik implored. "I'll call you tomorrow, when it's afternoon for you. Okay?"

"Sure. Maybe by then, I'll have some news about some of the others."

"Oh yeah," Marik belatedly realized. "I hope Yugi and the others are okay, too."

Ryo giggled faintly. "You didn't even think about him?"

"Sorry, no. I was only thinking about you."

"Mm…I like the sound of that." Ryo cuddled the phone. "Thank you, Marik."

"Sleep well," Marik purred. "I love you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 7

Once his driver had returned to KaibaCorp with the bags from Alastair's hotel, confirming that it had indeed suffered some damage and many of the guests were being asked to relocate, Kaiba promptly demanded to be taken home, putting any other matters in Roland's hands until the morning. The company building was damaged but not condemned, and they had contingency plans in place in the event of just such an emergency, which were already well in progress. Kaiba had done all that he could himself, so it was time to retreat and escape the chaos, to go home and take care of his injury, to look after Mokuba and do something about Alastair. He noticed on the ride home that Mokuba seemed to carry absolutely no grudge towards Alastair whatsoever, but his little brother always had been the more forgiving one, more empathetic even to Seto's rivals and enemies. He had been more understanding of Alastair's plight and his reasons for going after Kaiba in the first place, seeing much more quickly than Seto the qualities in him that were worth forgiveness and mercy. Kaiba sat in the corner of the back seat sullenly gazing at the darkened window while Mokuba beside him conversed eagerly with Alastair, wanting to hear how he was making his living now. Alastair explained that he was an international courier, working out of Europe, delivering important and valuable packages to people who needed them urgently and securely delivered in person. He was doing it mainly to see the world, though he did get paid extremely well because the people who used such a service were very serious about their goods not being lost or tampered with. It was good money, fast, and he had few expenses living such a nomadic life, so it suited him. Kaiba snorted to himself, but didn't interrupt the small talk, because Mokuba was much better at it than he was. It allowed him to find out everything he wanted about Alastair without having to ask himself.

When they got to the house, Kaiba gave it a once-over to see that there wasn't much out of place, and got a report from the staff as to damage and issues. They were lucky, compared to the KaibaCorp offices – a few valuables were broken after falling off shelves, there were tree limbs in the pool, but nothing serious had befallen the Kaiba estate. They even still had power. Kaiba sighed gratefully and declared that he was going to go lay down for a while, on doctor's orders that he should rest, but Mokuba was allowed to come and get him when dinner was ready. As Seto closed himself away in his room, his little brother decided it was his duty to show Alastair around, and then personally made up the guest room for him since the house staff was busy cleaning up from the earthquake. Night was falling fast, and Alastair sat looking out the guest room window at twilight stealing in from the east until he heard the call to dinner. Kaiba joined them, looking as though the rest hadn't done him an ounce of good, his arm resting securely in the sling the infirmary had provided. Afterward, instead of going back to bed, he prowled restlessly around downstairs and finally dragged out his laptop, wanting to network his computers to see if there was anything wrong with any of them. Not long after, Alastair came down from the guest room, having had a nice, hot shower and a change of clothing and curious to see what the master of the house was up to in lieu of their date. He found Kaiba in his study, hunched over his computer with a scowl on his lips and a glare of death directed mostly at the screen in front of him. "Problems?" Alastair flippantly asked.

Kaiba's eyes shifted sharply in his direction, as if displeased by his intrusion, and then settled back on the screen. "Nothing you need to be concerned about," he muttered.

"Uh oh." Alastair came closer and perched himself on the corner of the desk in order to look over Kaiba's shoulder. "How bad is it?"

Kaiba grimaced, mostly to himself, as he used his good hand to type in a command. "The KaibaCorp mainframe is up and running," he answered gruffly, "but some of the servers aren't responding. I've got some techs on it, but they keep insisting it's a software bug…because there isn't any possible way the servers could be damaged," he added sarcastically. "They're protected in earthquake-resistant bunkers deep inside the company."

Alastair gave a small chuckle. "I'm guessing you don't agree with their assessment."

"Bunch of morons." Kaiba typed something in the instant-message window in the corner of his screen and then winced again. "And not being able to type with both hands doesn't make it any easier to argue."

Alastair's hand came to rest on the desk beside his arm. "Want me to take a look?"

Kaiba glanced up at him out of the corner of his eye with a sullen glare. "I don't need your help."

"Oh, so you like typing with one hand." Alastair sat back and smirked. "I'm sure the morons in your tech department can keep up if you type at half speed."

Seething, Kaiba turned insolently back to his computer and tried to keep working, running what tests he could over the network connection before cursing his inability to function and slumping back in his chair. He rubbed absently at his left arm, which ached a little. Alastair sat quietly beside him, reading everything on the screen with a quick flick of his gray eyes, saying nothing and offering nothing. Kaiba studied him for a long moment and then heaved a put-upon sigh. "You're supposed to be a hacker type," he complained. "You think you can figure out my network security, or am I going to have to stand here and guide you by the hand?"

Alastair straightened up in interest and then grinned. "I know your security already. Unless you got smart and changed it since I last hacked into your encryption codes."

"Of course I did," Kaiba snorted. He pushed back the chair and got up, leaving it free to be taken. "Let's just get one thing straight. You're only driving, because you have two hands that work. I give the commands."

"Suit yourself." Alastair slid into the chair and scooted up to the computer, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he familiarized himself with the current setup and located the server connections that were not responding. Kaiba positioned himself behind the chair to watch, telling him where to start, but the young hacker leaped ahead of him, double-checking the security codes and encryption sequences to be sure that no outside interference was causing the problems. With some of KaibaCorp's servers down, it would be too easy for an attack to sweep in and steal secrets, but it looked like everything on that end was secure. He tested every network connection and then leaned in as he left Kaiba's instruction and flew through pages upon pages of script, debugging and decoding until he had isolated the problems and could throw everything he had at them. Kaiba fell silent and just watched, impressed by Alastair's speed and skill but not enough to tell him so. He took some satisfaction in seeing Alastair run into the same brick walls as he had, but it was what Alastair needed in order to diagnose the problem. At last, he sat back a little with a sigh. "You're right," he announced. "The bunkers may be earthquake-resistant, but not earthquake- _proof_. Something's physically busted. Hopefully you won't have to replace a server, but the only way to know is to get down in there and check it out." He glanced over his shoulder at Seto. "This side connection, which computer is this?"

Kaiba didn't need to see which one he indicated to know what he was questioning. "My private supercomputer here in the house."

Alastair's eyebrows went up in interest. "Oo, supercomputer? Where is it?"

"None of your business," Kaiba said curtly.

Alastair snorted and went back to the laptop. "Fine, I should have known. It's not on the same server as any of the rest of your mainframe or network stations, so it's perfectly safe." He shot an admiring look over his shoulder. "Not bad."

"Would you expect anything less of me?" Kaiba leaned forward a little, peering at the screen. "So, it's a hardware problem."

"Pretty much." Alastair let a little smile cross his lips. "You know, if your KaibaCorp tech guys are too dumb to figure it out, maybe I could go down to the office with you tomorrow and hunt out the hardware myself. Since I'm not doing anything else except waiting around for my courier package to be prepared for pickup at the end of the week."

Kaiba stood there without reaction for a moment. "What makes you think I want to let you poke around my mainframe?" he grumbled after a bit.

"Vindication, maybe. Show those idiots you were right, with a little outside verification." He shrugged. "I don't know, I just thought maybe you'd want your servers back online within the day, rather than waiting around for a week for them to find the broken bits. Since your arm is going to keep you from doing it yourself."

As much as he hated to call Alastair right, Kaiba knew he was. He couldn't argue with the assessment. "Fine," he begrudgingly consented. "I'm not paying you, though."

"It's okay." Alastair stretched out his hands to tell the IT worker on the other end of the connection that he was signing off and they should call it a day, and then quickly backtracked his way out of the system to ensure that it was completely closed off to any outside attacks during the night. "Anything else you want me to do before I log off the network?" he wondered of his partner.

"That should do. Log out of each connection but leave this one for last." Kaiba stood watching him do so, and that was when he realized he was absently stroking Alastair's red hair. Not only that, but he had been doing it the entire time he had been standing there looking over his shoulder while he typed. It was a completely involuntary thing, but noticing himself doing it made him immediately cease.

Alastair felt the combing fingers retreat from his hair and glanced subtly back. "You don't have to stop," he murmured.

Kaiba said nothing, only setting his hand firmly on the back of the chair. He distracted himself for a moment checking the computer screen to see that Alastair was completely logged out of the network, and stepped aside in order to shut his laptop down himself. "You're sure you want to crawl around my server bunker looking for problems?" he asked as casually as he could.

"I've got nothing better to do." Alastair rose and stepped from behind the desk, putting himself directly in Kaiba's way. "Mokuba's already gone to bed," he noted. "There's no one around to see, Kaiba."

Seto refused to lift his gaze and meet his eyes. "He made up the guest room for you, right?"

"Yeah, it's all fine." Alastair tilted his head curiously. "You know, it's been a rough day. If you want to talk…"

He trailed off, noticing that Kaiba most likely did not want to talk. Yet, he didn't move from his place either, just standing there facing Alastair in the darkened room. After a bit, Alastair relented and shook his head pityingly. "You should go to bed," he suggested. "You need the rest, so your arm can heal. Besides." He lifted his head and gave Kaiba a sneaky smile. "We're obviously not going to have sex tonight like you planned. You may as well just go get some sleep."

Kaiba held his gaze, though his expression remained sullen. "You don't know what I planned for tonight."

"I know that you wanted to see me, and spend some time with me, no matter what sorts of feelings might be in your head…for me or for anybody else." Alastair gave a small, wry laugh. "Even if you only wanted to spend our time having sex. It's better than nothing. But get your rest, now. You need it." He took a step forward to bring him dangerously close to his companion, brushing his face with soft fingertips and leaning in to kiss him in the most wonderful way. Just when Seto began to kiss back, finding himself hungry for it, Alastair broke away and caressed his cheek once more. "Good night." He stepped around him and swept past him on his way to the stairs and his room.

A few minutes later, Kaiba closed himself away in his room and got ready for bed, finding it difficult with his left arm immobilized but under no compunction to ask anyone to help him with this matter. He got into bed and laid there on his back with his broken arm resting on his chest in as comfortable a position as he could manage, his head too full of conflicting thoughts to let him go to sleep no matter how much his battered body craved it. He didn't know why he had insisted so strongly on bringing Alastair back with him, the hotel was only a convenient excuse. Even more perplexing was his decision to blurt out that he might have a crush on a girl he hardly knew. He hadn't expected the flash of regret in Alastair's gray eyes when he said it, even if it did seem like a reflex action to keep him an arm's length away. None of it made sense to him, and it was all the more garbled by the pain impulses continually feeding into his brain from his arm. Kaiba never liked to take medication unless he was in absolutely mind-crushing pain, he preferred to have his head clear and his focus intact, but it meant dealing with the constant ache throbbing through his elbow and up into his body. It was keeping him awake, and being awake meant thinking.

He did have some strange feelings every time he dueled Shandy online, but only because she flirted so outrageously with him and didn't seem to fear or hate him like most duelists in the world. He wasn't exactly seeking her out, but it always pleased him when she appeared online and bugged him for a rematch, for no fathomable reason. Kaiba sighed at himself as he laid there considering it. _What the hell is wrong with me? I don't even know her. She lives in England. It's not like she'd jump at the chance to quit school and fly over here to fawn at my feet if I asked her – she's not that kind of girl_. Though he may not have known much about her, he gathered from her personality that she was too independent for stupidity like that. She wasn't wowed by his money or status and would never abandon her world for his. Not that he wanted her to, either. He didn't actually have direct thoughts of intent toward her, or feelings for that matter. He only knew that it pleased him to see her username highlighted in his watch list while he was working online. What did that mean? Interest? Something just above casual indifference that he hadn't felt before? But then Alastair…

Kaiba glared at the ceiling. _What is it about Alastair that makes me unable to get him out of my mind?_ Shandy only dueled him, and talked cards, but had hardly shared anything of herself. Duel Monsters may have been his passion, but not the kind of passion that made him want to talk about it in his free time, to make it a subject of both casual and serious conversation. Kaiba simply didn't converse. He dueled, and then he moved on to the next activity, be it sleeping or working or whatever. The cards motivated many of his company's biggest products and fueled his greatest ideas, but they were not enough for him to sustain a relationship over. He and Alastair had never talked cards or the game, they had spoken seriously about weighty matters and then didn't talk at all. Kaiba knew about Alastair's new job, he had mentioned it the last time they met in May to explain why he had been in Domino for one night only. But apart from that, they just slept together, having no other real reason to get together. He couldn't say he loved Alastair in any sense of the word, but he knew the young man made him feel all kinds of things he never felt before, including for Shandy. To think of him being just a few doors down right now, under the same roof, close enough to call for, made his body flush hotly and ache with need. For a brief moment he snuck a hand under the sheets and caressed himself idly, as if to reassure his body that he had no intention of neglecting its needs. It could have just been the exhaustion of the moment, but he craved Alastair, and cursed his injury for rendering him incapable of satisfying his desire. _If that's all it is_ , he chided himself, _just sex and nothing more, then it shouldn't matter. Anybody will do. Why does it have to be him?_ He closed his eyes in a painful wince. _Why here, why now? Why did he walk into my life all of a sudden? And why can't I push him away?_ Kaiba hated being enslaved to his feelings, including the anger and bitterness that colored so much of his life to this point. He hated the mere possibility that they were dictating his decisions, even the words he chose to say. He and Alastair had only seen each other twice since being on opposing sides, hardly enough for anything resembling a relationship, and yet he had invited him home, wanting him near. Was it just for the chance to fuck him again? Or was there something else driving him, something that was glad to see him appear where least expected and didn't want to send him off to fend for himself in the broken city?

 _That's impossible_ , Kaiba scoffed at himself, tucking his uninjured arm under his pillow to wad it up under his neck. _I don't love Alastair, it has nothing to do with it. He's just a good fuck, that's all_. Frowning, he grunted at the pain in his left arm and tried to roll onto his other side, letting the cast flop heavily onto the bed next to him. Any further thought had to be squashed down, or he would never get the rest he needed to heal. It wasn't likely that he and Alastair could do anything, anyway, with his arm broken. The week would pass and he would disappear again on his world travels, leaving Kaiba safe in his solitude once more. He was just taking from Alastair what he needed, like he did with any other person who crossed his path – he used people, whether for business or dueling or sex, and had nothing else to do with them. And yet, as much as he tried to comfort himself with that thought so he could nestle down to sleep, it bothered him to think that saying that stupid thing about feeling something for Shandy might have hurt Alastair. At least, that was what his eyes said, even if his mouth said something different.

Though his school was closed to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake, Mokuba woke up at the usual time the next morning even without an alarm, by force of habit. He decided to get up rather than roll over and go back to sleep, if for no other reason than to make sure his brother was feeling better when he got up, knowing full well that Seto intended to go into the office even if it was heavily damaged. Mokuba scuffed his feet into slippers and wandered into the hallway, contemplating going to look in on his brother himself, and then considered that maybe he wasn't alone. Grinning to himself, he ducked into the bathroom first and came out just as he heard a door up the hallway creak open. He glanced to see it came from the guest room, not his brother's room, and Alastair came out alone, shirtless, rubbing an eye sleepily. Disappointment made Mokuba frown to himself. _So they didn't spend the night together. Damn_. Then again, Seto had a broken arm. Perhaps it would happen later in the week. He put on a lazy grin for their guest. "Morning, Alastair."

Alastair had been looking up the hallway to Kaiba's closed door, but his head whipped around upon hearing his name. "Oh, hey kid," he greeted Mokuba. "I thought you'd be sleeping in."

"I wanted to see if Seto was feeling any better," the younger Kaiba admitted. "You could have slept in yourself…"

"No, I'm going with him to KaibaCorp," Alastair said. "He needs somebody with half a brain to go see why the servers aren't working." He came down the hall toward Mokuba, but only set a hand on his head and ruffled his shaggy hair as he passed on his way to the bathroom. "Doesn't look like he's up yet, though."

Mokuba glanced over his shoulder at Alastair's retreating back. "You want to go wake him up?"

Alastair paused in the doorway but didn't look back. "No," he sighed after a moment, "I'll leave that to you. Somehow I think he'll respond better to you." He gave a little chuckle under his breath and disappeared into the bathroom.

Mokuba frowned all over again. Now that he knew Alastair was his brother's lover, it all made sense – beautiful, tortured Alastair, who had fought Kaiba only to give up his soul in the end, and then disappeared out of their lives rather than face Seto with the knowledge that he owed his life to him. Something must have happened between them to bring them to this point, but Mokuba wasn't about to take it for granted. He secretly hoped the two of them would get together as long as Alastair was here, because something about Alastair obviously made his big brother happy. If there was ever a time Seto needed someone to make him happy, it was now. But apparently not this morning, so Mokuba shook his head and went down the hall to rap on his brother's door and see if he was awake.

Tristan seemed to have suffered no further effects from being trapped in the rubble and nearly smothered by gas fumes, so the hospital released him the next morning with orders to remain on bed rest for exhaustion for at least two more days. Duke eagerly pulled himself away from overseeing the cleanup of his shop in order to run down and pick him up, and settled him at home in their bed for some serious mothering. The shop's employees were doing a good job picking up most of the merchandise that had been knocked off shelves, but there were shattered windows to replace and plenty to clean and remove, necessitating the temporary closure of the store. Considering that most of the shops and businesses around Domino were also closed and life was going to be rather abnormal during the cleanup process, it wasn't a big deal. It actually gave Duke more opportunity to look in on Tristan and make sure he was comfortable, no matter how much Tristan swore he was fine and didn't even need rest. Doctor's orders were doctor's orders, though, so he sprawled out to be taken care of and consented to having the gang over to visit him whenever they could get away from their own cleanup processes. The phone calls went out, and they all agreed to get together at Duke's place later that day, after Yugi was done with work and Joey had finished cleaning. The healing sleep of the Puzzle had done Yugi a world of good, he was feeling much better and enthusiastically pitched in to right everything at home and in the shop so they could open. They had suffered no real damage, and just like after the typhoon a year prior, it was astonishing just how many people felt the need to go out and visit a game shop right after a disaster, to regain some sense of normalcy or perhaps escape from the uncertainty and hardship for a bit. Kame game shop was happy to be there to help them with that.

There was only one office on the executive level at KaibaCorp headquarters that had suffered no damage, so Seto Kaiba appropriated it for his own use and sent all of his underlings to lower floors to scrounge for space themselves. The business was operating on a skeleton crew, and much of the company's day-to-day operations had been transferred temporarily to the branch office in Los Angeles while the Domino office underwent repair and reconstruction. It was very clear to Kaiba, as he set up his laptop in the new office and began coordinating everything himself, that it was going to take upwards of a couple of months before everything was back to the way it was yesterday morning. At least the penthouse level took the only real damage, lower floors were just cluttered with broken glass and ceiling panels. The building itself had no structural flaws to speak of, according to the engineers already combing it for the slightest cracks in the foundation. Kaiba had taken Alastair down to the server bunkers in the deepest bowels of the company and left him there to fend for himself, figuring that he could find his way around the computers of his own accord. It was a brilliant move, he guessed when the last reaches of the network came fully online less than two hours after they had arrived. Not too long after, Alastair breezed into the office as if he owned it, a smudge of dust on his nose and a rather self-satisfied look on his face. "Boy, your people aren't just stupid," he remarked the moment he passed through the door, making Kaiba look up with a frown. "That's the kind of incompetence that borders on negligence. You ought to fire the whole lot."

Kaiba eyed him warily. "I see you got the network up and running."

"Yeah, but you're going to have to replace a server," Alastair sighed. "I re-routed everything through the others, they can handle the bandwidth for a while, but to get everything fully functional the way you want it, you need a new server." He made a face. "It's trashed. Earthquake-resistant my ass."

A smirk slowly began to make its way onto Kaiba's face. "Would you like to be here when I call the tech department heads in for a conference?"

Alastair grinned evilly. "Oh, can I?"

Kaiba grunted a sort of chuckle and returned his attention to the laptop, pecking across the keyboard with one hand for a bit until his brief flash of amusement faded and returned him to the grouchy, sullen Kaiba who had started the day. "I hate this," he seethed after a minute. "I can't do anything myself, I have to just stand back and supervise everything on account of my arm. I can't type, I can't even duel."

"Yeah, you look frustrated," Alastair said candidly, brushing off his shirt after crawling around the server bunkers all morning. "Supervising isn't your thing, is it? You're the hands-on type."

Kaiba made a pained face and reached across to rub his left shoulder. His companion gave him a curious look. "Still hurts? Want a hand?"

"No." Kaiba rubbed his shoulder again and then resumed his feeble attempts to type.

Alastair shrugged and let him have his way. "So how is everything looking, anyway?" he wondered, glancing back at the open office door. He could see down the hallway to the pile of rubble cutting them off from Kaiba's real office.

"Our usual operations have been cut back in order to divert time and money to the cleanup and reconstruction," Kaiba reported stiffly. "KaibaCorp. USA is handling the daily routine, such as distribution and customer service, but I should have this place ready for all staff to return by the time you leave here." He glanced briefly at one of the windows on his screen and sighed. "It's going to take weeks to get this all restored. Nearly all the windows in the building have been shattered, furniture and cubicles and inventory have been knocked down on every floor, and you've seen our executive offices."

"Yeah…" Alastair returned his gaze to his companion and studied him for a moment. He was as closed off as ever, grouchier than usual on account of the pain in his arm, but something about him made Alastair want to stay instead of finding a ride back to the estate where he could hide out with Mokuba. "So," he began as airily as he could, "any other computer problems you want me to look into? As long as I'm here…"

Kaiba mumbled something that wasn't exactly an answer, leaving Alastair with no choice but to wander around the office poking into things, ending up behind the CEO and peering over his shoulder. For all his complaining about the speed with which he was able to work now, he appeared to be getting a lot done. Seto growled to himself, then, and sat back in his chair, flexing the fingers sticking out from his cast in a vain attempt to stretch them. "Dammit," he muttered. "No, I don't know what else you can do. Just…don't get in my way."

At that moment, Roland entered the office at a brisk pace, checking only briefly at the sight of Alastair standing guard-like behind Kaiba's chair. "Sir," he reported immediately, "the crews have arrived to begin removing the debris from this floor."

"Good," Kaiba snapped. "Have them get to work. And send up the department heads from IT, would you?" he added as an order, giving Roland a displeased look. "I have a few things I need to discuss with them."

"Right away, sir." Roland glanced at Alastair one more time, and then suddenly did a clear and amusing double-take as he finally recognized the red-haired young man. "You! You were the one who attacked Mr. Kaiba on his plane! That's where I've seen you before!"

Alastair gave him an aloof look. "Yep, that was me."

"He's here at my request," Kaiba said sharply. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Roland, so just go back to work."

Roland didn't look convinced, but he knew better than to argue with the boss and slinked humbly out. Alastair followed him and closed the door, shutting them both into a quiet sanctuary to protect against the noise of workers hauling debris away. Another glance at Kaiba found him grimacing and rubbing at his arm again, at which Alastair sighed and trudged back around behind him. Without warning, his hands came down on Seto's shoulders and began kneading them firmly. Kaiba stiffened. "Stop that," he muttered.

"Man, you're tense," Alastair remarked, not heeding the order. "No wonder you're in so much pain."

"It's my arm, stupid, not my shoulders," Kaiba grumbled, but then Alastair's thumb dug into the back of his neck in such a way as to make him go limp and let out a grunt of relief. He let it go on for a few minutes and then shrugged a shoulder to try and disengage his partner's hands. "I mean it, stop. What if someone walks in?"

"Your people aren't dumb enough to walk in without knocking," Alastair pointed out. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone see. I have no desire to out you in front of your employees."

Kaiba's cheeks flushed red, necessitating the diverting of his attention to his computer to try to cover it. "I'm fine, I don't need your help."

The hands eased away from his shoulders. "Fine," Alastair said quietly. "I'll stop trying."

Not too long after, the IT managers came in for their meeting, already seeming aware that this was not going to be business as usual. Having Alastair come in out of nowhere, diagnose the problems, and fix everything all before lunch had already embarrassed them, but now having to try to give an account of themselves in his presence made them self-conscious and uncomfortable, to say nothing of the fierce dressing-down they all received from the company president. They very nearly lost their jobs, but Kaiba told them he couldn't afford to be embarking on a search for a whole new technical department while trying to rebuild the KaibaCorp offices, so they had a reprieve in which to shape themselves up or pay for their incompetence with their jobs down the road. Alastair was given to be a consultant of some kind, brought in temporarily, not a threat to any of them. "I want the new server shipped to be here by the end of the week," Kaiba added sternly to the techies, "so he can oversee the installment before his retainer is up. I want no more mistakes. This company relies on computer technology; we can't afford to have any more problems like this surprising us. That's all. Now get out of my sight."

Alastair waited until they had gone before raising an eyebrow and remarking, "Consultant?"

"What the hell else do you want to call it?" Kaiba glanced subtly over his shoulder. "The actual reasons we know each other and you're here aren't qualification enough to explain you poking around my servers."

"Fair enough." Alastair glanced at the clock in the corner of the computer screen. "It's about that time. Want me to bring you some lunch?"

Kaiba was already pecking at the keyboard again. "I don't eat lunch."

"Fine." Alastair picked up his coat from where he had left it draped over a chair and swung it over his shoulders. "I won't hurry back, then. I'll leave you alone, since that's what it seems you want."

The door slammed shut, closing Kaiba back into silence. He lifted his eyes and glared at the door, but his mood softened after a moment and gave him reason to sigh. It had nothing to do with Alastair himself, he was just jumpy having him around in the off chance someone blundered into the office at the wrong time and noticed that they were something other than casual acquaintances or business relations. The last thing he needed was some underling racing off to spread rumors about his sexual preference and ruining his reputation in the business world. Rubbing his sore arm again, Kaiba pushed his chair away and turned it away from the desk, leaning back and closing his eyes for a few minutes. It was the only thing he could do to put it aside so he could focus on work.

Alastair returned more than an hour later, slinking quietly through the door so as to keep it closed as much as possible. The workers down the hall cleaning up debris were making quite a racket. Kaiba barely glanced up from the computer at his entrance having already guessed it was him by his failure to bother to knock first. From over the corner of his computer screen, he watched Alastair prowl silently to the chair in the corner, take off his coat, and then stand there for a bit with his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor. Kaiba returned his eyes to his work, but commented, "Bored already?"

Alastair glanced at him. "Well, the work did take a lot less time than I expected…"

"Do you have any problem coming back here at the end of the week to make sure those morons installed the new server correctly?"

The young foreigner shrugged. "As long as it arrives before I leave."

Kaiba gave a nod and resumed his task, having finally trained himself to type a little faster with one hand. It was still a burden, now straining his right hand and wrist, but he gritted his teeth and pressed on, not willing to show pain to anyone, least of all Alastair. He was not vulnerable and refused to be thought of as such, no matter what sort of damage he was doing to himself in the process. He was only partially conscious of Alastair going to the window behind him and looking out, trying to occupy himself while Kaiba ignored him. At last, though, he slipped up and gave a little growl, flexing his right hand just as Alastair turned and caught him doing so. The red-haired man heaved an annoyed sigh and came up beside Kaiba, taking his hand and beginning to rub his thumbs across the palm where his muscles had tightened up. Kaiba jerked it back immediately, snapping, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to help you," Alastair snapped back. "Your wrist is sore, I take it?"

Kaiba pulled his hand into his chest, trying to rub it with the fingers of his immobilized arm. "I don't need your help," he sullenly grumbled.

"Is that so?" Alastair faced him in challenge, setting his hands on his hips. "You're just going to spend the rest of the afternoon sitting here making little noises under your breath every time something hurts? I know you're too stubborn to take something for it; you'd rather suffer. Well, maybe I heard your suffering and wanted to help out if I could. Do you have a problem with that?"

Taken aback by the sudden outburst, Kaiba shrank even more into his moody shell. "I don't need it."

"I don't care." Alastair reached down and grabbed his hand, perhaps a little roughly, and pulled it back up so he could massage it. Kaiba could not have fought back without actually launching into a physical fight, so he sat there and took it, glaring up at Alastair the whole time. To his surprise, Alastair knew what he was doing. He laced his fingers between Kaiba's and rubbed at his palm, working out the strain caused by awkward one-handed typing, and then turned his hand over and gently massaged his wrist. As he finished up, he let Kaiba have his arm back and glanced to him, reading his companion's expression carefully. "What else? Your back bothering you?"

Kaiba averted his gaze. "It's nothing you can help with. I'm fine. That was…enough."

"Cut the tough-guy act and deal with it," Alastair said sharply. "You got injured. It happens to the best of us. If you're going to torture yourself by coming into work and trying to oversee everything, you're going to have to put up with the fact that it's going to hurt and I'm going to try to do something about it." He tugged at Kaiba's good arm. "Come on. Get up out of this squishy chair, it's not good for you."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, but reluctantly got to his feet. "What do you know about it?"

"I've picked up some things here and there." Alastair pulled his coat off the spare office chair without arms and dragged it around, indicating that Kaiba should sit in it. "Sideways," he added. "Obviously."

Growling to himself in frustration, Seto did as ordered, though he was now far away from his work and at his companion's mercy. Alastair said nothing more, and just went to work rubbing the knots out of Kaiba's shoulders and neck. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Kaiba was bothered by more than just his broken arm. Being forced to sleep on his back and keep that arm at his side all day was messing up the rest of his body, to say nothing of hidden bruises caused by debris in the midst of the earthquake. He received Alastair's assistance reluctantly, but it was better than suffering. He had only been sitting there less than a minute when he began complaining. "Do you have to be so rough? I thought you were supposed to be helping."

"It's not going to go away if I don't press hard," Alastair reasoned.

"What are you, some kind of expert?"

"No," Alastair flippantly replied. "I've just been told I'm pretty good at this."

A dark mood swept over Kaiba. "By who?" he asked accusingly. "Other lovers?"

Alastair gave a slight chuckle. "Valon and Mai. When we all lived together."

"Oh."

"You're awfully tense, though," his partner went on. "I can't do much for the long-term. You should probably see a professional. You can certainly afford it."

"I don't need your advice," Kaiba seethed. "I can take perfectly good care of myself, thank you. I haven't even been sick in years, I refuse to let anything stop me from putting in a decent day's work."

Alastair laughed in a low, understanding way. "I see, now. This frustrates you, doesn't it? Being made to feel like you can't do your job, and not being able to fix it yourself. It's out of your control, and you hate that."

The CEO bristled with annoyance. "You don't know anything."

"Funny, I thought I had you pegged perfectly."

Kaiba glared down at the floor, trying to keep himself still while Alastair kneaded his neck. "Why do you even care? It wasn't too long ago you wouldn't have even bothered to show up here. Is this some kind of lame attempt to get on my good side?"

"That would imply you had a good side," Alastair said dryly.

"I don't have to put up with this, you know," Kaiba snarled. "I may not have use of one arm but I could still lay you out without breaking a sweat. I'm just humoring you so you'll leave me alone the rest of the day."

"If you say so."

Alastair's refusal to back down frustrated Kaiba even further, making him growl again. Never minding that the backrub did feel good, Alastair's closeness was something he wasn't used to and didn't know how to handle. "If you're trying to use this to get something out of me, you're sorely mistaken," Kaiba decided to grumble. "You're here by my good graces alone, I could just as easily send you off to find another hotel. If you annoy me too much, I'll do it without a second thought."

Alastair waited a moment's pause before responding. "Does this annoy you?"

Kaiba glared hard at the floor again. "No," he finally said with a small growl.

"All right, then." Alastair's hands slid out to his shoulders and kneaded them with firm circular motions, taking out much of the strain of supporting the broken arm. "You can rail at me all you want, I don't care. Just tell me if something I do hurts more than it helps."

Sighing, Kaiba reached up and rubbed his forehead with his good hand. "Just remember to back off immediately if someone knocks on the door. I don't want them getting any ideas."

"Fair enough."

"Who I choose to keep company with is no one's business but my own, but there are some things my employees shouldn't know," he continued muttering. "Their unmitigated trust in me to hold this ship together is what keeps them loyal to me, the last thing I need is someone's confidence wavering because they think I'm weak. Judging by how surprised Roland was to see me walk in the door this morning, none of them expected me to be back at work the next day with a broken arm. They're in awe of me, and I intend to keep it that way. I have to be strong for their sake, to show no weakness, not even pain, in front of them. That's how KaibaCorp thrives in this economy."

"Interesting philosophy," Alastair murmured as he worked. "Can't say as I disagree with it."

"Anyone who tells you business thrives on teamwork is full of shit," Kaiba complained. "One man can make or break a company, if he's the right man. You should know that – you worked for a president whose loss caused an entire worldwide organization to crumble overnight."

"That's true."

"I don't need help to keep my company running, but I know when I stumble across someone I can use at the right time. Even a rival. That's all it is. I'll take what I can get, you're just useful to me right now. I'm not going to take some kind of medication that's going to leave me drowsy and stupid, but if this will let me keep my focus through the end of the day, it's worth a shot."

"I get the point." Alastair chuckled to himself. "Are you done ranting now?"

Closing his eyes, Kaiba sighed and collapsed back against the body behind him, consenting to the hands that came to rest on his shoulders. Alastair wasn't going to break, no matter what Kaiba said to him, so he had no choice but to live with his presence. The soft caresses along his collarbone weren't too bad, either. "What do you want from me?" he mumbled after a moment.

"Nothing." Alastair's fingers slipped into the collar of Kaiba's button-down shirt and rubbed lightly along his neck, caressing rather than massaging now. "I know it's hard for you to believe that someone could do something nice for you and not want anything in return, but it's the truth." He held Kaiba back against himself and combed his fingers through silky brown hair. "Take whatever you want out of it – pleasure, a good time, some benefits to your company, whatever. It doesn't bother me."

Kaiba leaned against him for a while, no longer fighting against his closeness. Alastair had weathered the sulking without flinching and gave back as good as he got, there was nothing more Kaiba could do but accept that he wasn't going away. After a long silence, Alastair nudged him to sit back up and gently rubbed his knuckles against Kaiba's back. "Did I get at least some of the tension out?"

"It's better," Seto grudgingly admitted. "Thanks."

"No problem." His gliding touch ran the length of Kaiba's shoulder as he came around him and passed him, heading for the door. "Take it easy for a bit. I'm going to run down and surprise your computer geeks one more time, make sure they haven't messed up any of my security measures."

Kaiba remained sitting there long after Alastair had gone, wrapped in his thoughts. But they weren't something he wanted to treasure for long, so he eventually forced himself back into the soft office chair behind the computer to work. He may have been slowed down, but not incapacitated, and intended to work for as long as it took to bring KaibaCorp back to life.

Dinner seemed like the perfect time for friends to get together, so that evening, Duke and Tristan were invaded by the others just in time to turn a convalescent visit into a small party. With Tristan ordered to stay in bed or at least not move around too much, Duke was doing the cooking, and Yugi, Joey, and Mai brought what they could to contribute before sitting down in the living room with Tristan to swap stories of what had happened to them individually during the earthquake. Téa had phoned each of them at some point in the day to check up on them from Osaka, having heard all the news from her family and wanting to know for herself that her friends were okay. Now that it was a day past, Yugi didn't feel such trepidation about it, and shared as much as he could of his reasons for being at KaibaCorp and being trapped with Kaiba in the office. He was no longer ashamed or afraid to tell his friends how Yami came to his rescue, and protected both him and Kaiba in his own way, until they got help and were free. It was a rather interesting tale, with the benefit of a long rest in Yami's ethereal arms to put everything into perspective. "So what did he want with you, anyway?" Joey pestered him. "What was this business meeting about?"

Yugi gave an awkward shrug to try to pass it off – he didn't want to say anything so soon. "We didn't really get that far. The earthquake hit before we could go into detail. I don't think I'll even hear from him to reschedule for a few weeks, there's going to be a lot of work to get KaibaCorp fixed up. Whatever he wanted, it's on hold."

"As long as he doesn't decide to forget it altogether during this downtime," Duke said warningly. "It would be a nice excuse not to have to explain himself."

"Well, he does owe me," Yugi pointed out with a smile. "I saved his life. He hates to let anybody hold that over him. I'm sure I'll get a call sooner or later. And when I know anything, I'll let you guys know. I won't keep you in suspense."

"You checked up on Bakura, right?" Joey asked him.

"Yeah, on my way over."

"How's he doin'?"

"He's all right. Still a little sore, he said, but he didn't faint again or anything. He sends his regards," Yugi added to Tristan.

Tristan nodded from his place reclining on the couch, half-wrapped in a blanket. "Thanks. Man, that's the last thing we need – any more of us getting hurt. But I suppose it could have been a lot worse."

"Yeah, all things considered, we got off easy," Joey remarked. "Not even all that much damage." He nodded towards Duke standing in the doorway to the kitchen, where he could both talk to his friends and keep an eye on dinner. "Your store probably got the worst of it."

"And it's mostly cleaned up now," Duke agreed. "Still got a few things to get fixed up, I'm on a long list of people needing new windows, but at least I'll be able to open for shorter hours tomorrow. Things'll be back to normal in no time."

Yugi gave Tristan a wide-eyed look. "What are you going to do about work? How long will they let you be off for an injury?"

Sighing, Tristan glanced briefly at his boyfriend before answering. "Well, since a doctor made me stay home, they're okay with that. But…Duke and I talked about it last night and…something he said kind of struck a nerve. It's not the best job in the world, it's pretty dangerous even without earthquakes making us have to start all over from scratch. I'm thinking maybe I should look for a better job, something where I don't have to worry about getting hurt at work." Another glance toward the slender young man in the doorway. "I don't want Duke to have to fret about ever getting a tragic phone call."

His friends gazed at him in interest. "You sure?" Joey questioned. "That's a pretty big decision to make. You sure you're not just freaked out by what happened?"

"No, he had a point I couldn't argue with. I've been complaining about other people getting hurt on the job, I've always known it was bad but I didn't think I was good for anything else." Tristan smiled easily at his friends. "Guess I just didn't look hard enough."

Yugi chuckled. "Who would have thought? After all this time, working hard, putting so much into it, you get hurt in an earthquake."

Tristan groaned. "I know. It's the worst kind of irony. Of all the things…"

"I'd have thought you would have gotten hurt on your motorcycle way before anything like this happened," Joey taunted him. "Goes to show you – there are a lot of other tragedies that can happen to us and Duke would still get that nasty phone call."

"As long as it's not the kind of tragedy that could have been prevented," Duke said darkly before turning and going back into the kitchen.

The others nodded their understanding. "It's probably for the best," Yugi said sympathetically. "Maybe you can find something you like better."

"Something that pays better," Joey grinned.

"I can ask around my office, see if they're hiring in the mail room or something," Mai offered.

"Nah, that's okay. But thanks," Tristan smiled. "I'll be off for a few more days, and then when I go back, they've already agreed to take me off the site for a couple of weeks and let me work in the main office. Temporarily. It'll give me time to look around for something better."

"Well, good luck," Yugi enthused. "I wish you all the best, Tristan."

Dinner came shortly after, and talk turned to much more lighthearted things now that everyone had shared their particular story of the quake and talked through their worries. It was good to be able to sit down with each other and share the company of good friends after such trauma, to give thanks for their lives and homes and just hang out like normal for a while. Whatever time it might take the rest of the city to clean up and move on from the disaster, this particular group of friends was already well on its way to being good as new. They didn't stay long, though, deciding to leave early enough to let Tristan get a good night's sleep. After they left and the flat quieted, Tristan lay in bed listening to Duke shower and get ready to join him. He wasn't tired, no matter how much he insisted to his friends, but now he had his boyfriend's uninterrupted attention. He tucked his arms under his head and waited for Duke to come out of the bathroom and douse the lights, all except for the reading lamp by the head of their bed. At last, Duke appeared in nothing but his underwear, combing a hand through his wet hair. Tristan purred a little chuckle. "Now that's a nice sight."

Duke eyed him. "I thought you were supposed to be asleep."

"I told you, I slept enough today. I'm wide awake." Tristan's brawny body heaved with a long sigh. "Not in any shape to do anything else, but I'm awake."

"It's too hot to sleep anyway," Duke complained, padding over to the bed and flopping onto it. Indeed, Tristan had already noticed this, for he had only the sheet covering his lower half while the rest of the blankets had been shoved to the foot of the bed. After a moment, Duke sat up and sidled closer to his partner, curling up beside him so Tristan could pillow his head on his boyfriend's thigh. "Yeah, I'm awake too. Too much going on in my brain."

Tristan nestled comfortably against him, closing his eyes contentedly as a hand came down around his head and fingertips traced lightly around his earlobe and down his neck. "Anything you want to share?" he murmured.

"Nah," Duke replied. "Just…little things. What I have to do before I can open the shop tomorrow, stuff like that. Nothing deep."

"'Cause you know you can tell me anything…"

"I know." Duke leaned his head back against the wall and engrossed himself in simply sitting with Tristan and stroking his neck tenderly for a while. The window nearest their bed was open for air, but there was no breeze to cool the July night. After a time, Duke spoke up quietly. "Joey's right, you know."

"Hm?" Tristan raised his head enough to glance up at his partner's face.

"There's a lot worse things that could happen to either of us, at any time." Duke gazed blankly across the room as he spoke, still gently caressing his boyfriend's ear. "Accidents or whatever. I don't really have any right to ask you to quit your job because I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

"Yeah, you do," Tristan said softly. "Because you love me. That gives you the right to worry about me."

Duke shook his head. "You don't have to quit your job if you don't want to. I'll deal with it."

"Maybe I want to." Tristan settled his head back down against his partner's leg. "It's not like you were wrong, deep down. You had a point. But we don't have to worry about it now." He lifted a hand and ran the backs of his knuckles along the outstretched leg he was pillowed against. "They're going to keep me in the office for a certain period of time, until they're sure I'm safe and healthy. That gives me time to think about it, and look around."

"Just don't do it because I overreacted and begged you to," Duke muttered sheepishly. "Do it because _you_ want to."

"Don't worry." Tristan's head shifted slightly. "I don't want to lose you, either. Now, come here." He pushed up onto his elbow and wrapped an arm around Duke's waist, pulling him down into the bed alongside him. Though surprised, Duke had no reason to argue, and sank eagerly down into the bedding with Tristan half on top of him, curling arms around him to snuggle him and resting his head on Duke's chest. It wasn't long before Duke's eyes closed, and a few minutes later he was sound asleep without even turning out the last light.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 8

In the days following the earthquake, Alastair stayed out of the way for the most part, enjoying the peaceful solitude of the Kaiba estate while his host insisted on going to work as usual. Mokuba's fifteenth birthday came and went during that time, but he only had a couple of school friends over to play games and eat a lot in celebration. His school reopened quickly, so he didn't have much time to take off and hang around with their houseguest, but Mokuba seemed to really like having Alastair there regardless. It gave him someone to chat with at dinner, who interacted with him more than his brother and didn't try to parent him. Kaiba's days were long and difficult and left him irritable come nighttime, not to mention disinterested in entertaining his guest or embarking on strenuous activities, but Alastair never pressed him to do anything. He lurked around the estate doing his own thing, mostly taking advantage of the comfortable room and amenities to enjoy a relaxing vacation of sorts while waiting for his next job to come through. The businessman paying for his courier services had his cell phone number, and would be calling him when the package was prepared for delivery, but he already knew it would be perhaps a week of down-time in Japan before he would get that call. It would have been nice to spend some of it outside by the pool on the estate grounds, but it had been damaged and dirtied by the earthquake and was currently drained for repairs. Not to mention, a heat wave swamped the region, making it far more desirable to stay inside where it was air-conditioned and cushy.

The day after Mokuba's birthday gathering, the younger Kaiba found Alastair reclined on the leather sofa in Seto's study, reading, of all things, a software manual to pass the time until Kaiba got home from the office and they could all sit down to dinner. Mokuba wrinkled up his nose in distaste when he saw what Alastair was engrossed in. "A computer manual? What are you doing, Alastair?"

Alastair lowered the book enough to grin over the top of it. "How else am I going to know all the holes and security patches so I can hack into it?" He raised the book to cover his face again. "Being a brilliant hacker isn't all trial and error, kid. It takes research, being on top of things."

Mokuba made a face at the cover of the book. "You sound like my brother."

A dry laugh came from behind the book. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Mokuba came around the desk and perched himself on the corner of it, so he could see Alastair regardless of whether he wanted to keep his nose in the manual. "Alastair…you like my brother, right?"

Alastair's head whipped toward him, his eyebrows going up in surprise. "What? Where did that come from?"

"Well…you guys have…like, been together," Mokuba tried to explain. "I know Seto's not the cute and lovey kind, but he's been out with you, so…I thought maybe…you liked each other."

Alastair smiled faintly, almost sadly. "Mokuba," he said gently, setting down the manual and sitting up, "it's more complicated than that. You know your brother. He doesn't let anybody get close to him, not even me."

Mokuba sighed in annoyance. "Yeah, I know. Is that why you haven't tried to…get close to him since you've been here? I think you should," he immediately pressed without waiting for an answer. "He doesn't say anything but I know how happy he was after he started seeing you. He was in such a good mood, I could hardly believe it. Whatever you guys do, it's a good influence on him, and I kind of want to see him like that more often."

Alastair shook his head slowly. "It's not a good time," he demurred. "He's got a broken arm, and is in a lot of pain. I don't want to bother him when he comes home from work, he needs to get his rest so he can heal up."

"Well…" Mokuba gave him a hopeful look. "Maybe if you guys spent the night together, he would relax a little and rest better?"

The young foreigner laughed. "You're trying to fix me up with him. You want to see us together that badly?"

"Well!" Mokuba held up his hands helplessly. "I just want to see Seto happy. I know something about you makes him happy, even if he doesn't want to admit it. And you're cool."

"Thanks," Alastair smiled. "But I don't think it's as easy as you make it sound. I can't beg, convince, or bribe Kaiba to be with me, it's his choice whether he wants to or not. He knows I'm here, and he knows how I feel about him. It's up to him to act on it. And I don't think you can talk him into it either," he added, pointing sternly at Mokuba. "Just in case you were thinking of trying."

The younger Kaiba gave him a wide-eyed look of innocence that didn't fool him for a minute. "I just thought that maybe he needed you to like…ask him out or something. You should."

"Don't pester him about it." Alastair looked away. "If your brother wants me, he'll make it known one way or another. I'm not going to interfere. And I'm not going to put my life on hold waiting for it," he added with a hard look at Mokuba. "At the end of the week when I get my phone call, I'm gone, no matter what. If he doesn't want to make a move by then, that's his choice. I'm not going to sit around pining after him."

Mokuba's shoulders sagged defeatedly. "I guess you're right," he mumbled. "I thought maybe I could help, if you needed me to ask him for you, but…I know what he's like."

Alastair's expression softened. He leaned forward and clasped his hands before him. "It's not like I don't want be with him," he assured. "Yes, I do like your brother, for some strange reason. But I know not to push him. He'll come to me when he wants to. And if that doesn't happen this week, so be it," he shrugged. "Maybe next time I'm in town."

"It's so cool to have you around, though," Mokuba enthused. "You're so much more fun to talk to than him. And you have the coolest stories!"

Laughing, Alastair relaxed back into the couch. "Trust me, you've heard all of them," he snickered. "Most of the time, being a courier isn't so cool. It's a lot of sitting in airports and taking long, ugly flights. I don't get to see as much of my destinations as I'd like."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"Fast money." Alastair smiled coolly. "I want to be able to start a new life somewhere, when I find a place I like, and buy myself a new motorcycle. I gotta have money to do that."

Mokuba sat up eagerly. "You could do that here…"

The smile faded. "We'll see," Alastair sighed. "Who knows? Maybe I don't like Japan enough to live here."

"Well, I guess I can't really say anything about that," the younger Kaiba admitted. "I've only ever lived here, I don't know what it's like in other parts of the world." He grinned suggestively. "But my brother is here. That's a good reason, isn't it?"

Alastair shook his head again. "It's not enough, kiddo. I don't mean to say something stupid about you not being old enough to understand, but you're not old enough to understand. Life is complicated when you're an adult, and just having someone you'd like to get to know better and be around isn't enough to change your whole life over. Especially when that someone is Kaiba." He made a face in complaint. "He doesn't even know what he wants, I can't expect him to ever make up his mind and give me a reason to stay."

"Stupid Seto," Mokuba groused. "He needs to get over himself."

That made Alastair burst out laughing. He was still laughing a few minutes later when Kaiba arrived home from the office and only gave his houseguest and his little brother an odd look when he found them snickering together over some private joke.

It wasn't that Alastair hadn't attempted to seduce Kaiba during the course of the last few days. Seduce, perhaps, being a little strong – he had often sidled up to him, talked to him, tried to rub his sore neck and be kind, in the off chance that Kaiba wouldn't turn down his advances. But Kaiba usually claimed to be in too much pain and discomfort or just too busy, giving Alastair the impression that it wasn't going to happen thanks to the injury. What he didn't know was that behind his aloof façade, Kaiba was in a world of turmoil. His complaints of pain were merely to keep Alastair at arm's length, to keep their relationship from becoming more than just sexual. The gentle treatment was softening Kaiba's resolve and making him even more conflicted, resulting in a subconscious desire to put Alastair off completely, to use the broken arm as an excuse to keep them from being together for any reason. Neither of them chanced flirtation or even overt friendliness in front of Mokuba, not wanting to corrupt his teenage mind with the knowledge that they had sex with each other, so for those few days Kaiba had been proving cold and standoffish as usual. Yet, for all his attempts to reject Alastair's closeness, he still caught himself occasionally thinking about the red-haired young man, or staring after him as he moved about the house. The fact that Mokuba didn't hate him, and was actually carrying on some kind of friendship with him, made Kaiba feel better about having snuck around with him in the past. The connection was out in the open, now, if Kaiba chose to pursue it – at least he had Mokuba's acceptance, and that meant volumes.

That evening, after listening to the other two chat over dinner about the most inane of topics, Kaiba sequestered himself in the study to finally go back into the wireless dueling network to check up on its status. He had already looked into it as administrator, to make sure none of the servers were down and the earthquake had not disrupted service, but this was his first chance to go online and see how the disaster had affected duelists themselves. The moment he connected through his spy account, a message window popped up in front of him – from Shandy. _Bloody hell!_ it said. _It's about damn time! I thought you were dead or something!_

A smirk began to cross Kaiba's face. _Duel disk?_ he typed back, hoping not to have to type any more than that. The disk was on his desk, even though he couldn't strap it to his arm as usual. The wireless node lit up almost immediately, giving him the satisfaction of having Shandy's attention without hardly trying. "You should know it takes more than a little earthquake to get rid of me," he said smugly into the headset.

"Bloody hell, Kaiba, you could have gotten on sooner than this," Shandy complained at him. "I've been watching your name – both names – for four days. Your network wasn't down, so I thought you'd have some sense to peep on and let the world know you weren't killed."

Kaiba frowned to himself. "Who else in the world would care?" he muttered. "It's not like I can duel you right now anyway."

"Why not?"

"My left arm is broken."

Shandy swore at him, in a caring sort of way. "You all right, mate? What happened?"

Kaiba sat back in his chair and rubbed idly at his arm. "I hurt it during the earthquake, of course. I'm fine," he added crisply. "I've been busy, there's a lot to do to get the KaibaCorp offices up and running again. At least the wireless network wasn't affected, except for a brief outage. All duels in progress were interrupted but the records were backed up right up to the minute the quake hit."

"Oh, I don't care about the damn network," Shandy snapped at him. "I just wanted to see for myself that you were alive and well. It was only a little byline on the news, I had to go hunting on the internet to find out more and that was where I saw that KaibaCorp was all busted up."

The faintest smile curved Kaiba's lips. He was quietly pleased to hear how irate she was that he hadn't bothered to sign in and assuage her worries sooner. "You thought something might have happened to me?" he asked in a low tone.

"Well, yeah," she replied casually. "All we hear is, 'earthquake in Japan, centered so many kilometers from Domino City,' and oh look, KaibaCorp got hit hard, and then you don't show up for a few days. I kinda figured you were busy, but a little part of me got worried, yeah. My boyfriend said I was overreacting – guess I owe him a five-spot now. He said you'd show up when you wanted to, all fine and dandy."

Kaiba's heart instantly froze within him. He stared at the computer screen, at the window with Shandy's introductory message and the watchlist for the network, his expression going cold. "Your…boyfriend?" he managed to murmur.

"Yeah, we were watching the news at his place when I said I hoped you were okay. The pictures they showed looked pretty bad – how bad is it, really?"

Kaiba's face flushed hot in embarrassment at the tangled thoughts racing through his head over that one little word. "Not very," he forced himself to say. "I'm sure they just chose to show the worst examples of damage."

"Ah, yeah, that sounds about right."

Kaiba cleared his throat of the thickness that wanted to choke him off. "Not to cut this short, but my arm is bothering me. I just wanted to log in to make sure the network was all right."

"Aw, yeah, you should take care of that," Shandy said flippantly. "Rest up, mate. Take good care of yourself, get the maids to fluff up your pillows or something. We want you back in dueling condition right quick, don't we?"

"Yeah," Kaiba muttered darkly. "Whatever. Thanks."

"Take it easy."

He reached to the duel disk and terminated the connection immediately, shutting down his online status as well and then turning off his computer. Kaiba sat for a while staring at the darkened screen, and then slammed a fist down hard on the desk. _Dammit!_ he cursed himself. _How could I have let myself fall for it? A boyfriend! She had a boyfriend all this time and played me for a fool! I let myself relax just enough to let her in so she could stab me in the heart and stomp all over it!_ Squeezing his eyes shut, he pounded his fist on the desk again and then dropped his head into his hand. _Damn her! She really had me good. I may have won every duel, but she beat me in the bigger game. This is what I set myself up for! How could I have been so stupid?_

A rush of anger overwhelmed the shame. _She played me. She never intended to go anywhere, all that flirting was for no reason. She played me like any other pathetic man on the planet, toying with me because she figured I'd fall for it. Never again! You hear me?_ He lifted his head and glared at the black screen. _Never again! If this is the price to pay for opening myself up to liking someone, forget it! Love is worthless! I'm through with it!_ But then, he heard voices upstairs – one voice in particular – and another emotion rushed in to replace the anger that was ebbing out of him. _Maybe I ought to just swear off girls_ , he considered, as the gentle murmur of a stranger's voice upstairs filtered through his defenses and speared his shattered heart. He couldn't hear what Alastair was saying, just that he was talking to Mokuba in a pleasant tone somewhere near the stairs where their voices would carry through half the house. _Yeah, that's it. I'm through with girls. They just want to play mind games and flirt for no reason. She probably just wanted the attention, from the president of KaibaCorp and Duel Monsters champion. Well, she can go to hell_. Kaiba sat there brooding for a while, as the sun set outside and plunged the study into darkness, his thoughts becoming less coherent until they were nothing more than a blur, a vague, gray mist of emotion that made him push himself out of his chair and storm upstairs.

Hearing a shuffle of feet, Alastair glanced up from the book he had been skimming to find Kaiba standing in the doorway of the guest room, a dark look in his eyes. "Kaiba?" he wondered.

Seto faced him squarely from the door. "Are you in love with me?"

"W-what?" Alastair sat up a little from his reclining position on the bed. "What kind of a question is that?"

"Just answer it," Kaiba said curtly. "Are you in love with me?"

"Well…" Alastair set the book aside, blinking at Kaiba's stern figure. "I…I don't know. It's kind of a hard question to answer."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed, and with an angry snort he turned and blundered away down the hall as abruptly as he had appeared. Bewildered, Alastair scrambled to his feet and chased after him, calling, "Kaiba!" into the hallway. It got Seto to at least stop and glare over his shoulder. Alastair approached him cautiously. "Why would you just up and ask me that? I don't get it."

"It's not that hard of a question," Kaiba grumbled. "Yes or no."

"It is so a hard question," Alastair argued. "You and I haven't been seeing each other long enough for me to know how I really feel about you. Though I will admit," he said more softly, "I care about you. I think about you a lot. I think, given time, if everything kept going the way it is right now…I probably could have those feelings. But it's too early to tell." He peered at Kaiba in the dark hallway. "What the hell brought this on, anyway?"

Kaiba turned stubbornly away from him and leaned his good hand on the wall. "It's nothing," he grumbled. "I just needed to know. But if you don't even know…"

"Do you?" Alastair challenged him. "Can you say whether or not you love me? Or is that word not in your vocabulary?"

Kaiba turned sharply back towards him, and held his gaze for a long time before backing down and averting his eyes again. "I don't know," he murmured. "I don't think I know what love is. Any time I think I might be figuring it out, it all backfires on me."

"It's not an easy thing to figure out," Alastair said understandingly, folding his arms over his chest. "I've never been in love. The only people who loved me – my family – were taken away from me, and the rest of my life has been hard and cold. It's hard to even know what love is, let alone whether I can feel it for anyone." He lifted his eyes and gazed solemnly at Seto. "Something tells me your life has gone pretty much the same way as mine."

Kaiba was still staring intently at the floor to avoid meeting Alastair's soft gaze. "I love my little brother," he muttered under his breath. "It's not the same thing. Familial love, it's not…"

"No, it's not," Alastair agreed. "But it's where we learn to love. And we both had that ripped out of our lives far too early."

Seto closed his eyes. "I had to be strong, for Mokuba's sake. I had to set emotion aside and manage without it or we would have both lost everything, including each other." He glanced up at Alastair and noticed his downcast expression. "You had to do the same."

"That's right," Alastair said sullenly. "I had to be strong for my brother, but then I lost him. I never had the chance to grieve. Dartz may have used my feelings against me, but when it came right down to it, I was expected to be cold and ruthless and not rely on emotion to guide me. Except for hatred." He grew even more solemn, his eyes glittering in the dim darkness of the hallway. "It was a wretched cycle – I had to push down everything except my hatred in order to find the power to exact my revenge for the people I loved. It seemed to make perfect sense then, but…" He shook his head and lifted it proudly, blinking back his emotions. "Sometimes I feel like it's too late to go back and re-learn about things like love, after having lived so long without it. As long as there were people around to use, why should I want to care about any of them?"

Kaiba's expression flickered only briefly, as he heard his own personal philosophy parroted back to him. Coming from anyone else, it sounded stupid. "I never thought it was too late," he said dejectedly, "I just never thought there was a reason to bother. I got this far by myself, why should I change now?"

"I agree," Alastair said. "So why is this happening to us?"

Kaiba sighed tiredly. "You got me."

His companion gave him a thoughtful look. "We both have the same paradox. We've lived almost parallel lives…which have left us both unable to love, even though it appears both of us long for it."

Seto turned away again, though it was too late to stop this conversation from happening. "You think so?" he said heavily.

Alastair lowered his voice for privacy's sake. "Do you…want to feel something for me? Or did you ask me that question before because you wanted to cut me off before anything even got started?"

"I honestly don't know."

They stared at each other for a long moment, and then Alastair backed away shyly. "I may not be able to put a name to what I feel, but I do feel strongly about you. If you can stand to wait and see what it turns into…I'd be willing to try. I don't know what it is you want, but…asking me a question like that makes me think you want more than just to use me for a good fuck now and then."

Neither of them realized that Mokuba was listening to the entire conversation from behind his door, since they weren't all that far down the hall from him. He remained completely silent, though inwardly he was lifting a hopeful wish to the heavens that his brother was going to say something nice and romantic and they would go off down into his room together…

Kaiba sighed hard. "I don't know what I want," he grumbled. "I don't know anything. None of it makes sense anymore. I don't know who to trust, so all I can do is rely on nobody but myself, as usual. I've come to realize that trying to trust other people only gets me hurt in the end, so I'd rather save myself the trouble and just push everyone away." His voice suddenly hushed, so that no one but Alastair standing across from him could hear him. "But why can't I push you away?"

"I don't know," Alastair said honestly. "Is that the problem? You want to be your usual self but I'm in the way?"

"You're making this harder than it should be," Seto said heavily. "I never should have asked you to come here to the house."

"I'm sorry." Alastair turned and made to go back down the hall to the guest room. "I'll leave you alone, if that's what you want. It's probably easier for you that way."

"Alastair…" Kaiba stared hard at him, waiting until he turned back around to finish his thought. "You don't seriously want that, do you?"

The red-haired young man gave him a mournful look in return. "All I want is for you to give me a chance. I may not be very good with emotions any more than you are, but at least I'm honest. You asked me if I love you, and I said I didn't know. I don't know. It may not be helpful, but it's the truth, because I don't know how to give you anything else."

Another long silence lapsed between them, as they stared at each other, waiting and wondering. At last, Kaiba gave a small nod and turned his shoulder. "Come on, let's finish this somewhere more private." He glanced furtively down the hallway. "This isn't the sort of talk I want to be having where there are too many ears."

It was late enough that most of the house staff had been dismissed, so Alastair guessed there was just one set of ears he was worried about, but he nodded his consent and followed Kaiba down to the room at the end of the hallway. It was the first time all week he had been permitted into Kaiba's bedroom, a thought which gave him the slightest lift of hope as the door closed behind him and Seto went to slump to a seat on the bed, fatigued. Alastair drifted closer, but waited until he received a nod of permission before taking a seat beside him, on Kaiba's right side so as not to accidentally bump his arm. They sat together on the end of the bed for a long stretch, saying nothing, staring at the floor. It was Kaiba's place to continue the conversation as he had indicated, but either he had nothing more or it was taking an untold amount of courage to bring it up. At last, he lifted his head slightly and stared at a spot on the wall instead. "You know what I said the other day about there maybe being some girl I know…?"

"Yeah…?"

"Forget it." Kaiba's eyes narrowed in a glare. "It's not going to happen. I was a fool for even entertaining the idea of returning her flirting. She toyed with me like I toy with my dueling opponents, and in the end it's all pointless." He sighed hard and dropped his voice to a sullen murmur. "It was the girl who beat me in the world tournament. She offered me a rematch, and I accepted, I've dueled her several times and won every time, proving to myself that she just got lucky that once and I really am the superior duelist. But the whole time she kept flirting with me, until I didn't know why I was dueling her anymore. I just logged onto the network, to check something, and she was waiting for me. She wanted to know I was all right after the earthquake. Just when I was thinking maybe she cared about me, she mentioned that she has a boyfriend." He growled to himself. "She set me up and I took the fall. I hate to be played by anyone, least of all a girl, and if that's the way it's supposed to go, forget it. Life is too short to be wasted fucking with people's heads when you have no intention of following through with it."

Alastair remained silent until he was sure Seto was done. Then, he murmured gently, "So that's it. You wanted to know if I was fucking with your head, too."

"I have no patience for those kinds of games. I have enough to worry about without adding that into the mix. If that's what love is, then I truly am better off without it. We both are."

"I don't think it is," Alastair said with a shake of his head. "Because I don't feel like doing that to you. I may not know much, but I know I wouldn't do anything like that to you, because I've never learned to play those kind of games. You're right, life is too short. I'd rather be brutally honest, because it weeds out all the people like that. If they don't want to be honest with me? Fuck them. I don't need them."

Kaiba eyed him sidelong. "I seem to recall you being rather good at a particular type of head game yourself."

"That was different," Alastair insisted. "And it was another lifetime ago entirely. I may have baited you, but I dropped the game when it was time to get serious. Some things just have to be handled that way." He gave Seto a hard look. "This isn't one of those times. This is serious. So, no games. Just the honesty you deserve from me."

Kaiba held his gaze. "And what makes you think I'm willing to trust you? I tried opening up just a little and got burned."

"You trust me with your body," Alastair said pointedly. "You even trust me around your little brother. If that isn't enough to gain your trust in other matters, then nothing will. I can't make you and I can't beg you." He pushed himself off the bed and took a couple of steps toward the door. "I'm not going to push. If you don't want me, I'll go. I won't bother you again." He gave Kaiba the barest glance over his shoulder. "You and I have lived the same life. What you're struggling with, consider that I feel the same thing. What have you given me to make me want to trust you? You argue with me all the time, you belittle me and close yourself off from me when I try to get close. I ought to be feeling the same way you do about that girl – why should I bother trying when I just get shot down?" He turned away and tried to go to the door, to open it and let himself out, give himself escape, but he couldn't move from that spot. All he could do was sigh to himself. "I can't push you away, either. I don't want to."

The silence between them became heavy and pronounced, as they retreated into their individual dark thoughts and stayed there for too long. Finally, when it seemed Alastair was about to break and flee for the door, Seto roused himself and simply murmured, "If you don't want to, then don't."

Lifting his head, Alastair turned back, making a questioning frown. But Kaiba said nothing further, and didn't look up. His face was blank, but not upset. Alastair returned to him and sat back down, searching his face for more explanation, but none came. "Is this my chance?" he wondered.

Blue eyes flicked up and gazed narrowly at him. "You promised me honesty."

"And you'll get it." Alastair's eyes narrowed as well. "Just don't play me, either. I don't like it any more than you do."

"I wouldn't know how to," Kaiba said with a shake of his head. "I can't promise you any more than that, though. I'll give you your chance. At this point, I don't think I have anything more to lose, except to prove that I was right all along and I don't need anyone."

"That's all I'm asking for," Alastair agreed. He lifted a hand and brushed it down Kaiba's arm, pleased to feel the warmth beneath his sleeve and the firm shape of his muscles. They both glanced up at each other at the same time, and blinked, at which Alastair whispered, "Do you want me to go, so you can rest?"

"No," Seto replied. "There's no need. I'm done resting. My arm doesn't hurt." He glanced down at it with a frown. "Though it's going to get in the way of anything else…"

"Not necessarily." Chancing a smile, Alastair reached across and touched the back of his injured hand tenderly. "We can try something different. If you're willing." He chuckled a little under his breath. "I'm sure a deep talk like this hasn't exactly turned you on."

"No…" Kaiba turned his head and leaned closer, intoxicated by his companion's presence enough to whisper, "…but having you here in my bedroom has."

"It's about time," Alastair purred in return. "I tried to be patient and wait, but it was getting hard."

"Yeah, well…you weren't the only one," Kaiba sighed.

Alastair glanced his lips subtly across Kaiba's cheek. "You want this?" he murmured.

He was answered with a nod. "I want it."

"Okay." Alastair reached to turn Kaiba's face to him with his fingertips, and then kissed him gently. The response was slow but unmistakable. There was a growing heat beneath the surface, stifled for far too long and begging to be let loose. Alastair slid his hand down Kaiba's neck to his throat and began to deftly unbutton his shirt, until he had enough room to sneak his hand inside and caress warm skin. He progressed no further than that for a while, indulging Kaiba in a long session of simple, caring touches to put them both at ease and awaken their slumbering desire. In the process, his hand found the card-sized locket resting against Kaiba's chest, protected by his shirt. A faint smile touched Alastair's lips as he picked it up and sprung the clasp, discovering Seto's most hidden secret: the photo of Mokuba, torn in half so each could place the other close to their heart. Alastair shook his head slowly. "You can never tell me you don't know anything about love," he said dryly, indicating the locket.

Kaiba's face flushed. "It's nothing," he muttered.

Alastair ran his thumb along the golden edge of the locket before closing it again. "You have someplace special you put this?"

Kaiba nodded toward the bureau across the room. "Just up there."

His partner gently lifted the cord over his head and removed the locket, getting up to put it safely on the top of the bureau. He slunk back towards the bed more slowly, lifting his t-shirt up and peeling it off on the way. He generously helped Kaiba out of the sling so his heavily-bound arm could at least move freely, and then sank down astride his lap. There was still a considerable weight of solemnity and angst on them both, but it didn't make seduction any less possible. Alastair balanced himself carefully so Seto wouldn't have to hold him, and concentrated on favoring him with slow, heated kisses to build him up just right. Kaiba had been wearing button-up shirts all week long, for ease of getting the sleeve over his cast, making it easy for Alastair to work him out of it and bestow his naked chest with appreciative touches and kisses to his broad shoulders. At last, Kaiba let himself fall back on the bed, catching himself on his good elbow, and Alastair stretched out on top of him, kissing his way down to chest and nipples. Kaiba gave a low moan at the exquisite feeling, letting his cast flop uselessly out of the way while he curled his other hand around the back of Alastair's head and guided him to find the most sensitive places to kiss. After a good long time, Alastair finally pried himself up and braced his hands on either side of Kaiba's head, gazing down at him. Neither were smiling just yet, but they shared the same look of eager desire. Licking his lips, Alastair murmured, "I suppose I should get what we need before we get too carried away."

Kaiba nodded slightly. "You know where everything is," he mumbled in embarrassment. "Although…" He tilted his head to look not at the door to the master bath, but the head of the bed. "…the condoms are in the bedside table."

Amusement twitched Alastair's eyebrow. "You _were_ planning to fuck me all along."

"Of course." Kaiba frowned at him. "You expected anything less?"

Alastair narrowed his eyes right back. "I was being good. You said you were tired, and your arm hurt."

"It doesn't hurt now."

Sniffing in annoyance, Alastair pushed himself off the bed and stalked across the room, going to the bathroom to fetch the lubricant first and leaving it on the bedside table where the condoms were hidden. Along the way, he decided to shed his jeans, doing it slowly and deliberately in full view of his partner and leaving them piled on the floor with his shirt. Kaiba had sat up a little to watch, and while the look in his eyes wasn't a smile, it was certainly approving. Alastair self-consciously combed his fingers through his hair, pulling an errant strand out of his eyes, and prowled back to the bed to stand before his lover. "Well?" he wondered. "Are you ready?"

Kaiba eyed him curiously. "But, how are we going to do it if my arm…?"

"You're not interested in being on the bottom for once, are you?" The look Alastair received was answer enough, and made him chuckle faintly. "Didn't think so. You're the aggressive type, that's one of the things I like about you."

Kaiba studied him warily as he sat up fully to meet him. "So how does one stay aggressor when he's stuck flat on his back thanks to his arm?"

"Lay back and relax and I'll show you." Alastair helped him to do so, and once Kaiba was nestled comfortably against the pillows, he found his partner crawling up over the top of him, descending to kiss his stomach and chest again for a while first. He worked his way up to Kaiba's lips, and savaged them for a time before pulling back to whisper beside his ear, "You're in good hands. I'll take good care of you tonight, you don't have to worry about straining yourself."

"I'm not some weakling," Kaiba retorted, his voice a low growl.

"Of course not." Alastair pulled back enough to give him a soft smile. "Think of it as me wanting to thank you for your hospitality this week."

Kaiba breathed a long sigh. "I guess I can't argue with that."

Alastair sat up, straddling his partner's hips, and pushed gently on his chest to get him to stay reclined in the pillows stacked at the head of the bed. His hand wandered, finding a nipple on one side and tracing around it delicately, teasing until it hardened and Kaiba gave a soft gasp. Encouraged, Alastair slid back enough to give himself room to undo Kaiba's belt buckle and pants and tug them off. He crawled back into place after tossing them aside and bent his head to kiss his partner's abdomen, taking his time and letting his fingertips glance along the inside of Kaiba's thighs the whole time. Kaiba laid back lazily in the pillows, breathing heavily but otherwise quieted by the slow seduction and in no rush to change the mood. Watching Alastair's lithe, beautiful body arch and stretch as he moved about was enough to arouse him, to say nothing of the way he kissed and touched and even breathed. He wasn't even naked yet; somehow, watching him prowl about in just his tight briefs made Kaiba even more aroused than expected. And it was obvious, too, making Alastair snicker a little to himself before reaching to tug down Kaiba's briefs and fling them onto the growing pile of clothing at the foot of the bed. This time, when he returned to position in the middle of the bed, he reclined beside Kaiba's right hip and leaned across him to give him a teasing lick, fondling him affectionately and lavishing his erection with plenty of attention. Kaiba clenched his good hand on the pillow beneath his head, making an effort to control his panting breath and not let himself be pushed too far too fast. Fortunately, Alastair knew just when to pause, figuring him prepared enough for the new position he intended to try. He stretched up to give his partner a deep kiss and then rolled over, reaching for the bedside table. Kaiba laid still and consenting while first condom, then lubricant, was provided for him, and then Alastair tossed off his underwear and prepared. Neither of them said a word as Alastair climbed astride Seto, knees on the bed on either side of his hips, and positioned himself above the waiting erection. Blue eyes widened only slightly, but Kaiba understood now, and clasped his lover's wrist to tell him that he could proceed. Closing his eyes, Alastair tilted his head up and back with a pleasurable gasp as he sank down onto Kaiba's erection, bracing himself with his hands on Kaiba's abdomen. He would be doing all the work, and Kaiba would reap the benefits.

Alastair pushed himself up on his knees and sank back down again, letting out a breathy moan at what it felt like to him. He shifted around a bit, and found a good position in which he could keep doing that, over and over, for as long as he had the strength. Kaiba settled in to watch and feel, unable to do anything else at all, which was fine. He didn't have to fret about his arm at all, it was sufficiently out of the way and he was still getting pleasured as he desired. The sight of Alastair rising and falling onto him, eagerly exerting himself in this way, sent heat rushing through Kaiba's body and mind. He was beautiful, sexy, wanton…the way his red hair framed his face, and the golden light of the lamp on the bedside table played along the curves of his shoulders and trim chest, all gleaming with sweat… Kaiba couldn't tear his eyes away. Alastair rocked back a bit, and settled into the right position to have them both screaming in a short time, the friction of his body sliding up and down rippling up Kaiba's length and all the way through his prostrate body from mind to toes. The soft gasps became light cries as Alastair pushed himself further, faster, even though the strain was beginning to make his legs tremble. Then, Seto reached out with his good hand and cupped it over the head of his lover's erection, caressing him with a circular motion. Shaking, Alastair paused completely for a moment, his shoulders hunched forward as he braced himself with hands splayed over Kaiba's ribs, his body heaving with every gasp. Kaiba continued to stroke him, captivated by his submissive posture and the way he just sat there panting, eyes half-closed and pleading. He could feel Alastair's trembling down through his own body, even though he wasn't thrusting at the moment. Then, Alastair pushed himself up and closed a hand gently over Seto's. "Stop," he breathed. "You don't have to."

Kaiba paused but did not take his hand away. "You're almost there," he murmured.

Taking a deep breath, Alastair tossed his hair out of his eyes and braced himself once again, deciding to continue. He flexed his legs and resumed pushing himself down onto his partner's cock in a steady rhythm, biting his lip and trying to hold on until he had brought Kaiba to climax. It was difficult, what with the hand still playing lightly on his erection, stroking him in encouragement. Alastair tightened his grip on Kaiba's hip and sped up, rising up as far as he could and sinking back down swiftly, over and over, until he could feel the hips beneath him twitch and try to thrust back against him. It was a good sign, and he responded by increasing the pace even more, losing himself in the motion with his head fallen back and eyes closed, keening softly as his own body began to escalate toward the peak at the same time. Kaiba suddenly let out a growl, and recoiled beneath him, pressing himself back against the pillows and gasping out loud as he came. His hand closed on Alastair's cock, and with a yelp he came as well, arching back as his body spilled itself across his lover's stomach. He fell onto his hands, bracing himself while he struggled to catch his breath, but neither of them moved for a while. Kaiba nudged him with a hand on his thigh, indicating that he wanted to get up. Alastair cautiously slid off him, and helped him sit up, but Kaiba held him back with just a raised hand to indicate that he could go and clean himself off without assistance. Nevertheless, a minute or two later, Alastair followed him into the bathroom, and sidled up behind him to wrap his arms around him, kissing him on the back of the shoulder. The heavy look Kaiba gave him over his shoulder was more than words could have conveyed in that moment, and then they broke apart, effortlessly weaving around each other to take care of their own needs as if they had been partners for years and were used to it. Alastair left the bathroom first, going over to find his underwear on the floor even as the light clicked off behind him, and then a hand took him by the arm. He glanced to Kaiba, wondering, but the expression which met him was impossible to read. Only the fact that he had been stopped from leaving or even dressing told him that he was to stay, even though the one asking him could not have prevented him from doing so. He could have left, and in his state Kaiba would not have been able to physically restrain him.

Alastair turned back, and after a wordless moment, Seto dropped his arm and reached to flip back the sheet, intending to climb into bed. Alastair followed him, stretching out alongside him and wrapping his arms around him. His hand slid down beneath the sheets to show his appreciation for their mutual lack of pajamas, and before Kaiba could even think about going to sleep, he found himself being happily stroked off with complete disregard for whether or not he was tired or able. At least his body knew better than his mind what it wanted, and responded in turn, leaving Kaiba doubly sated and exhausted by the time Alastair finished and curled up against him, holding him and kissing his neck. Not too long after, he was pleased to see a disheveled Kaiba sleeping in his arms, completely passed out with the sort of restfulness he had not been able to find all week long.

Mokuba had seen his elder brother come home from the office, so he had to be around somewhere, but a brief search of his usual haunts – including his bedroom, with door ajar – turned up nothing. The guest room door was closed, but being as Alastair had said something that morning about taking a nap after fiddling around with some computer stuff, it didn't seem that unusual. Mokuba was about to knock to see if Alastair knew where Seto was, but he was arrested by the sound of laughter coming from behind it. Not just laughter – low, pleasurable laughter, in Alastair's breathy tone, followed by a snicker that was unmistakably Kaiba. Eyes wide, Mokuba turned on his heel and darted away from the door as quickly as possible. He knew better than to interrupt, particularly if his question had just been answered.

The quiet, angsty sex of the night before had paved the way for a more open encounter between the two young men, as if they needed to make up for the time lost earlier in the week. It was Alastair's fault for flirting with Seto the minute he walked in the door; expecting to be put off again or at least just given a look to show that the attention was appreciated but not about to be reciprocated, he was surprised to find himself dragged upstairs and pinned against a wall. Being as the guest room was closer, they just fell into it and disappeared for a more lighthearted session than last night. But the necessary supplies were down the hall in Kaiba's room, so all they could do was toy with each other for now and collapse on the bed in a tangle of half-naked limbs to have a good laugh about all that repression finally breaking. "See?" Alastair taunted as he laid with an arm flung over Kaiba's chest. "I told you your arm wouldn't stop you."

"To a point," Kaiba muttered. "There are still a few things I can't do."

"Mm, then I look forward to coming back when you're all healed up and seeing what I missed out on," his partner purred. "Shouldn't be too long." He tugged up a fold of Kaiba's shirt, which had never actually come off, and licked his chest sensually.

Kaiba heaved a long, eager sigh at the feel of lips on his skin. "You think it'll be tomorrow?"

Alastair ceased his kisses and gave a little grumble. "Most likely. This is probably my last night here."

"I suppose we'd better do something with it, then." Kaiba stretched and made to get up, only getting so far as to sit and comb fingers through his messed-up hair. He shifted away and sighed. "Mokuba will be disappointed to have to see you leave."

"Yeah, the kid likes to have me around." Alastair sprawled across his bed, keenly watching Kaiba's back. "I like him. He's a nut."

Kaiba heaved a gruff chuckle. "Completely unlike me."

"I wasn't going to say _that_ …" Alastair pushed himself up and hunted around on the floor for cast-off clothing so they could make themselves presentable. He tossed Kaiba's pants at him and trusted him to get dressed by himself, having given up helping unless there was some obvious sign that Kaiba was in pain and could have used a hand. Judging by the playful romp they had just enjoyed, pain wasn't an issue. When they had both dressed and smoothed themselves over, making sure there was no evidence of what they had just done, Alastair fluffed his hair properly in the mirror. He could see Kaiba behind him in the reflection, gazing at him with an interesting sort of expression in his eyes. Some of the hunger from their brief encounter was still there, but behind it was something else, something that didn't seem natural for Kaiba to feel.

Catching Alastair looking at him through the mirror, Kaiba turned away sharply and checked his shirt one more time to make sure it was tucked in. "I have some things to take care of after dinner," he muttered, "but…"

Alastair smiled at his reflection. "Want me to come down and drag you away from the computer when it's late enough?"

"If you want." Kaiba went to the door and unlocked it, peering out briefly to make sure Mokuba wasn't anywhere nearby to catch him coming out. Assured, he glanced at Alastair one more time, but didn't know what more to say and just left. Alastair chuckled to himself and followed him out. So much was still left unspoken between them, but for now, he could live with it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 9

The new server was delivered to KaibaCorp by the end of Alastair's visit, and as promised, he came down to the office building to oversee the installation and give the tech department an earful about maintenance and upkeep so something like this wouldn't happen again. The company's earthquake preparedness had saved it from major damage, but it wasn't impervious, meaning things like the servers and other technical equipment had to be cared for properly in order to avoid future catastrophes. Any aftershocks following the major quake one week ago had been relatively minor and some weren't even able to be felt, but Alastair wisely pointed out how vibration affected sensitive systems and not all of KaibaCorp's computerized nervous system was shielded in earthquake-resistant bunkers. When bugged about his expertise in such matters, he flippantly told the pack of nerds that he had been a hacker for a major worldwide organization whose headquarters were in Los Angeles, so he knew more than enough about both computers and earthquakes, and that finally shut them up.

Kaiba looked up and sighed at the expected intrusion. "Didn't your former employer teach you to knock?"

"You're not my boss," Alastair said smugly, grinning. "And as threats go, I think he had you beat. There were much worse consequences for interrupting Dartz."

"Just wait till I get this cast off," Kaiba grumbled under his breath.

"You'll be happy to know," Alastair announced, ignoring him, "that the server is up and running and integrated seamlessly into the network. All the functions I had to re-route for the week are back in place, and you shouldn't have any problems handling bandwidth. Consider your company back in the race."

"Good." Kaiba harrumphed at the computer screen in front of him. "I wish I could say the same for the rest of our departments."

"Eh, give it time," Alastair shrugged. "This is what you have an American office for…"

At that moment, his cell phone rang shrilly. The two men glanced at each other, and then Alastair fumbled in his coat pocket for the phone and flipped it open. "Yeah. Ah, yeah, I kind of figured. I was expecting your call. Hm?" He listened for a while, as Kaiba returned to his work, typing swiftly with just his right hand – he was getting good at it. Alastair's hand suddenly groped across his desk, demanding a pen. There was a notepad near at hand, and he scribbled something down on it while making a few affirmative noises into the phone. "Yeah, I got it," he said concludingly after that. "I'll be there shortly. I'm not too far from there at the moment. Yes, sir. I understand." He ended the call and gave a weighty sigh. "Well, that was it."

"Your courier package?" Kaiba asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." Alastair turned slightly toward him. "Guess it's a good thing I said goodbye to Mokuba this morning. I'm off right away, as soon as I pick it up."

Kaiba returned his eyes to the computer screen. Suddenly, he felt like he wasn't ready, even though both of them had been expecting this. He finished typing something as Alastair pocketed his phone and turned away, taking one last look out the window at the Domino skyline. He couldn't make himself leave, or ask for a ride, or anything. His bag was still at the Kaiba estate, he would need to go back and pick it up regardless. Then, he heard the click of the laptop cover being closed, and glanced back to find Kaiba putting his work aside and rising from his chair, his eyes downcast. "Your things are at my place," he said flatly. "Do you need a driver to go pick them up?"

"That'd be nice of you, thanks," Alastair said quietly. "Maybe send someone while I go pick up the package. It might give us a few extra minutes…"

"No." Kaiba still wouldn't look at him, standing with his hand resting on the desk in front of him. "When you go, just go. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

Alastair turned and drifted closer to him, his gray eyes filled with curiosity. "Seto?"

Kaiba lifted his head and looked directly at him. "I'm not going to ask you for any promises," he said bluntly. "Your life is your own to live, you owe nothing to me and are perfectly capable of making your own choices. I'm not about to demand anything from you."

"All right," Alastair acknowledged, a little confused. "I was only going to say…it's just goodbye until next time I'm in town. Right?"

Kaiba peered at him. "How long are you going to keep doing this? This isn't a job, it's a gamble. Not all international couriers are above-board."

"I'm aware of that," the red-haired young man shrugged. "It's just until I have the money to settle down somewhere. I'm not going to make a career out of it, don't worry." He laughed wryly. "What, are you worried about me?"

"I just hate to see you wasting your talents," Kaiba replied grouchily. "Having worked for Para-Deus would look good on a résumé. You could be using your considerable computer knowledge and talent working for a high-level company anywhere in the world, instead of slaving away as a courier." His blue eyes narrowed. "One of these days, you're going to get into trouble. Do you really think every package you're hired to carry is on the level?"

Alastair lowered his head slightly, but didn't back down. "I haven't been asked to do anything like that so far," he said quietly. "I'm not stupid. I won't willingly take a job like that, no matter how much money it would net."

"I'm not concerned about your ethics," Kaiba sniffed. "Just that you could be setting yourself up for something. You're not a bad computer technician, or pilot for that matter. If there's one thing I can't stand to see, it's someone throwing away perfectly good talent."

Sighing, Alastair turned away. "I don't plan to do this forever. I'd like to have a nice job in a nice city somewhere, and make a real life for myself. There's nothing for me left back home, and I refuse to go back to L. A."

"So start looking," Kaiba challenged. "Find yourself a real job that suits you. It doesn't matter where. If you don't like Europe all that much, move to Japan. There are plenty of companies looking for good computer help here."

Alastair looked at him again, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? You want me to move here?"

"I want you to do something with yourself besides get into trouble," Kaiba said sternly. "Where you live is your choice. I have nothing to offer you, I was only making a logical suggestion. I don't know what the job market is like in Europe, maybe something there suits you better. What do I know?"

"Not much," Alastair admitted, making Kaiba glare at him. He took a few steps away from the desk, toward the window instead. "I don't know. Prague isn't terrible. Berlin has some fun nightspots. I don't know if I'd want to make any of them a permanent home, though." He tilted his head in an aloof shrug. "The euro isn't doing all that well."

"Neither is the yen," Kaiba pointed out. He couldn't fold his arms like he usually did when making a point, but he crossed his arm over his chest and rubbed idly at his left shoulder. It wasn't hurting, but somehow he felt discomfort. "It was just a thought. You speak the language well enough, you could probably find a decent job here."

"And be close enough to see you anytime I wanted to?" Alastair glanced over his shoulder with a pointed look to match his question. "Or is that something I shouldn't be factoring into my decisions?"

Seto bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Never hinge your decisions on the feelings of others. You're only responsible for one man – yourself. I told you – I can't make you any promises."

"I don't want promises." Alastair returned his gaze to the window, but he wasn't really seeing anything beyond it. "I just want to know whether all that stuff we talked about the other night still matters. Whether it would be worth coming to Japan if you suddenly decided, in the months between our visits, that you could push me away after all."

"That's a chance you'll have to take." Kaiba stared hard at his back. "Don't do anything on my account. I'm not worth it. Do what makes you happy. Find your own life."

"What about you?" Alastair turned his head very slightly, one gray eye peering back over the collar of his coat. "Is Mokuba right? Do I make you happy?"

Kaiba averted his gaze. "Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters." Huffing a sigh, Alastair spun on his heel and stalked closer, getting right in his companion's face. "I know you're not the kind of man who would confess anything deep, but if you had any inkling of a care for me, you'd tell me before I disappeared out of your life again. If you think I should be doing something that makes me happy, it matters if _you_ are part of what makes me happy."

Kaiba eyed him, not shrinking away from his bristling anger. "I never said not to move to Japan. If that's what you want, do it. Go right ahead. I'm not stopping you."

Alastair opened his mouth and then shut it in surprise, blinking. "What?"

"Just don't do it on account of me. Do it because it's what you want." He turned to face Alastair, still clutching his opposite shoulder in some semblance of a gruff, closed-off stance. "I have no doubt you'll end up here, no matter what you might say about Prague or Berlin. You're going to make your way here because of me, regardless of whether I give you any indication that I want you in my life. That's just the stubborn kind of man you are."

Alastair frowned at him, not sure whether this was some kind of bizarre reverse psychology or what. "How do you know? You don't know me nearly as well as you think you do, Kaiba. A few nights in your bed hasn't opened my life up to you."

A smirk lightened Kaiba's face. "I'll bet you're living in Japan within two months."

"Oh yeah?" Alastair held his gaze and then smirked back. "I'll take that bet. What's the stakes?"

Kaiba thought about it. "Dinner."

"Oh come on. You can do better than that."

"Take it or leave it." He smirked again. "Any visits in the meantime thanks to your job don't count. I mean living here, whether in Domino or Tokyo or Hokkaido for all I care."

"All right, fine," Alastair snorted. "It's a bet. If I'm not living in Japan inside of two months, you owe me dinner. And I'll make sure it's a super-extravagant one, too," he added with a snarky lilt.

"It's not like I haven't fed you enough over the last week." Kaiba sobered, then, and dropped his gaze. "You'd better get moving. That guy isn't going to wait all day for you to show up."

"Yeah." Alastair stared at the floor. "I just didn't want to leave with anything unfinished between us."

"Nothing is unfinished." Seto glanced at his companion. "I have nothing else to give you. Go on, go do your job. I'm sure you'll call me if you're coming to Japan again."

"I will." Alastair started to turn away, but thought better of it and stepped back around to face Kaiba. "No, there's one thing left."

"Hm?" Kaiba looked up and then recoiled in surprise as Alastair grabbed him and kissed him, hard. After the initial shock, though, he melted into it, and then they were sharing a long, delicious farewell kiss. Alastair clenched his hand into the short hair on the back of Kaiba's neck and held him in place, ravaging his mouth with all the subtle sensuality of every night they had spent together so far. It was enough to make Kaiba's knees go weak, if he weren't concentrating on returning the kiss with just as much fire. At last, they reluctantly parted, each licking his lips to savor the taste of his partner. Alastair darted in for one last kiss, suckling on Seto's lower lip, and then finally backed away. Without saying a word they just stared at each other, and then Alastair turned sharply, making his coat flare magnificently out. He drifted to the door and let himself out, not bothering to look back. After a moment to collect himself, Kaiba gingerly tasted his lips once again, and then picked up the phone to call down to summon a driver to take Alastair on his errands and then to the airport.

Mokuba knew as soon as he came home from school and found things dreadfully silent that Alastair was gone. He didn't even need to see his brother come home alone and seclude himself away to rest before dinner and more late-night work at his computer. It was strange – Alastair had only stayed with them for a week, and hadn't called all that much attention to himself, but his absence could be felt like the great silence, which dominated the house. Both Kaiba brothers had gotten used to him being there in their own way, and wondered how the other might cope without their guest to keep things interesting. Mokuba retreated to his room and played video games until dinner, even though it was late in the summer term and he should have been studying. He got to the table before his elder brother, and was already poking at his food in boredom when Kaiba came down and slunk silently to his chair. It couldn't have been more obvious that Alastair had left, then, seeing their table back down to only two place settings. Kaiba just sat and methodically ate while Mokuba fidgeted and finally broke the silence that had been annoying him all afternoon. "Why didn't you ask Alastair to stay?" he asked petulantly.

Kaiba savored his meal for a few bites before coming up with an answer. "Because," he said flatly. "It wasn't my place to."

"Of course it was your place to," Mokuba argued, "he's your boyfriend."

"Mokuba." Seto focused a stern look on his little brother. "Alastair is not my boyfriend. Just because we've seen each other a handful of times doesn't mean anything."

Much as he wanted to bring up the fact that they liked to lock themselves in the bedroom together, Mokuba just grumbled and sighed. "He really likes you, you know."

Kaiba focused his gaze on his plate. "We're not in high school anymore, Mokuba. 'Like' has nothing to do with it."

His younger brother looked up and glared at him, raising his voice for once. "Oh, just get over yourself, Seto! You've got a guy who really likes you and wants to be with you and you're pushing him away like you do to every other person who wants to get to know you! Stop being such a jerk and treat him like a normal human being, would you?"

The outburst surprised him, but Kaiba didn't show it, apart from a twitch of his eyebrows. He kept his gaze concentrated on his dinner, and only shrank further into himself in response. "Do you really want me to do that?" he muttered. "You know how I treat normal human beings."

"Then treat him like you ought to treat somebody who matters to you. Treat him like you treat me," Mokuba challenged. "I don't get why this is so hard for you to understand."

"Maybe I understand it better than you do. Look, Mokuba." Kaiba lifted his head, looking solemn and dark. "Alastair and I both have our own lives to live, and there's nothing that says they were meant to be lived 'together' in any sense. He's going his way; I'm going mine. Maybe our paths will cross, maybe not. I'm not going to ask him to stay because I don't want to be responsible for his life." He narrowed his eyes to a keen focus. "He can make his own decisions, he's an adult. So am I. He has to work out his own path for himself, not rely on me to do it for him. If the kind of life he wants to live includes being somewhere where he could try to make things work with me…then that's his choice. Not mine." He went back to his dinner, adding, "I'm sure he'll drop by to visit again. This isn't the last we've seen of him. Now, I don't want to hear another word about it."

"But…"

"Drop it, Mokuba." Kaiba sighed heavily. "Alastair and I have an agreement. That's all I'm going to say."

Mokuba wasn't convinced, but he knew this was an argument he couldn't win. The assurance that Alastair would blow in out of nowhere again sometime in the vague future wasn't much, but he would have to be content with it for now. It wasn't that he missed Alastair himself, just that he knew there was something new and altogether fascinating going on between him and Seto and Mokuba wanted to see it succeed. Though, Alastair _was_ a cool guy. It might be nice to have him around on a regular basis. But it was clear Alastair had issues as deep and raw as Seto's, so instead of just waiting for his brother to heal to the point where he could let someone close, Mokuba would have to wait for both of them to reach the same level. He sighed to himself; _it's going to take forever for either of them to fall in love_.

There wasn't any particular reason to party, but Yugi and his friends got together one random night in July nonetheless to enjoy the company and perhaps celebrate the fact that all of them were doing just fine. They had put the earthquake and its aftermath behind them, cleaned up, fixed up, and were back to normal in their own ways. Tristan was still working in the office of the construction company while they handled his medical expenses, but apart from that, friendships and relationships had only grown stronger in the subsequent weeks. They gathered at Joey's flat – Yugi, Tristan, Duke, and Bakura – and were all rather surprised when halfway through the evening Mai broke out a bottle of champagne that had been properly chilled as if for an occasion. "I know you're still the young one in the group," she smiled at Bakura, "but you can toast with us, can't you?"

"Sure, I guess," Ryo shrugged, "but what's the occasion? Have I missed something?"

"Yeah, what's going on, guys?" Yugi wondered.

Joey came to stand beside his fiancé, grinning from ear to ear. "Well, we just figured it was about time we settled on a date for the wedding, and let you guys know."

The boys all sat up sharply. "Seriously?" Duke pressed. "What took you so long?"

"Well, you know, we had to find a calendar that showed the phases of the moon for next year," Joey pouted. "That's harder than it looks in the middle of summer."

Yugi's eyes widened and began to sparkle with joy. "You mean…"

"Of course." His best friend pounced on him and wrestled him into a headlock. "We had to pick a day when Yami could be there. I wouldn't want him to miss out on the cake, you know."

Rather than fight back, Yugi used the opportunity to seize Joey around the middle and hug him fiercely. "Thank you! That's so sweet of you!"

"We owe so much to both you and him," Mai said warmly. "We want you both to be there, so we picked a day when he'd be out of the Puzzle. What do you think of May? May twelfth, to be exact."

"May sounds good," Yugi chirped.

"Spring is a lovely time for a wedding," Ryo offered.

"That's the day, huh?" Tristan remarked.

"Yep. Twelfth of May, next year," Joey affirmed. "I'm tellin' you now so you can make sure you have that day off. All of you," he added, pointing at each of them.

"Consider it done," Duke said proudly. "Now crack open that bottle!"

Mai gleefully did so, and poured each of them enough to toast the promise. Yugi and Ryo declined anything more than that, but Duke and Joey were all for a full glass each. They raised a toast to the couple and then settled in to talk about it, whether anything had been planned beyond a date or not. "I talked to Téa about it," Mai informed her friends, "and she thinks her term at school will be over by then so she can be here. Even if it's not, she's flying back for it."

"Awesome," Tristan enthused. "Yeah, we gotta have the whole gang here for Joey's wedding. It's a milestone. A once in a lifetime opportunity to embarrass him in front of his family."

"Better be once in a lifetime," Duke teased.

"Hey, I'm in this for the long haul," Joey forcefully assured him. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't mean to go through with it. And I do." He gave Mai an exasperated look. "Though I don't know how I'm gonna survive the wedding. The marriage…I'm fine with that."

"I told you, we'll hit up my parents first," Mai said with a smooth smile. "They'll be so ecstatic to hear that their wayward daughter is actually settling down, they'll sit down and write the check out right there."

Joey clapped a hand to his face. "Oh no. We have to tell our _parents_."

Everyone else gave them both a boggled look. "You didn't tell your parents you were getting married?" Tristan yelped for all of them.

Flustered, Joey held up his hands. "It's not that we were hiding it or nothing! I mean, Serenity knows. She watched the tournament, she saw me propose. I just kinda took for granted that she told my mom, but I haven't told her directly yet…I guess it was just too big and scary…" He glanced at Mai again. "But we haven't told Mai's parents, no."

"I'm not very close to them," Mai sniffed. "It doesn't matter. We have a long engagement anyway. They won't even bother to ask when we got engaged, all that will matter is the wedding date."

Yugi raised his glass with the little sip of champagne left in the bottom. "And now that it's set, there's no turning back! I'm so proud of you guys!"

Everyone else raised their glasses to the sentiment as well. From there they returned to regular party mode, mostly eating and chatting, catching each other up on their lives, and occasionally playing games. After a while things began to wind down, and Bakura excused himself to go get a good night's sleep on account of needing to work on campus the next day. Yugi was sitting in the screened doorway to the balcony, enjoying the cool breeze that came to snap a hot streak across the city. Joey came and flopped down beside him, having refilled his glass and thinking it was a good time to pal around with his best buddy. Yugi nudged him in the shoulder as he sat down. "Look at you. I can't believe how far you've come," he complimented Joey. "I had no idea, that day we first met and you bullied me around, that someday I'd be all excited to go to your wedding."

"Yeah, kinda freaky," Joey agreed with a lopsided grin. "And not just going to it, Yug. We want you to be part of it."

"Part of it?" Yugi repeated, frowning curiously.

"Mai wants to have a Western-style wedding, not a traditional one," Joey explained. "So, we're gonna need people to be in the wedding party. Like a best man, and stuff."

Yugi began to beam happily, so much so that he nearly dissolved into tears. "Are you asking me, Joey?"

"Kinda." Joey looked over at him and saw his teary eyes, and headed it off by slinging an arm around his shoulders and shaking him gently. "Hey, stop that. Now, we haven't really talked about it, I don't know how many guys I'm supposed to recruit or what. And I really can't decide between you and Tristan – I was thinkin' about it last night and was up half the night because I can't pick who deserves to be best man more, him or you."

"Well, you have known him longer than me," Yugi put forth.

"But you mean a lot to me, maybe more than him," Joey reasoned. "I don't know. When Mai and I talk more, I'll know what I need to do. But I want both you and Tristan to stand up for me, okay?"

"Anything, Joey." Yugi pounced on him again. "That's so cool. I've never been in a wedding before. I can't even remember ever going to a Western-type one."

"Yeah, well…" Joey grinned. "Mai's not a very traditional kind of girl."

"I kind of figured that." Yugi giggled. "And I bet, since she's working for a fashion magazine, she'll have access to all the newest style dresses that'll cost you more than the ring you got her…"

"Gah, I don't want to think about that." Joey rolled his eyes. "Though that does remind me. Speaking of fashion. Have you made any plans with Yami for the next full moon, yet?"

Yugi eyed him perplexedly. "What does that have to do with fashion?"

"Hear me out," Joey implored. "Mai's going out of town on a business trip around that time, far as I know she's gonna be gone over the full moon. Some kind of fashion photo thing for the magazine, I dunno. But it means I'm gonna be free, and not only free, but bored. If you guys wanna go do something, I'm totally up for it."

"Ohh…" A grin began to dawn on Yugi's face. "Well, come to think of it, we hadn't really made plans yet, no. Do you have any ideas?"

"Maybe." Joey took a sip of his drink. "I was kinda thinking it was time for a boys' day out. I mean, I know he's your boyfriend and all, but he still knows how to have fun. We should do something fun, all three of us. Hey, what about the beach?" He glanced toward Yugi. "It's been a while. Have you even been there since we all went after high school was over?"

"Uhh no, actually…" Yugi pondered it. "It's the perfect time of year for it, I guess."

"Talk it over with him," Joey said with a nod toward the Puzzle. "Even if he doesn't feel up to going to the beach, we should hang out and do some guy things, just you and me and my other best buddy."

"Okay." Yugi smiled at him. "I'll let you know what he says. Sounds to me like a great idea."

"Cool." Joey winked. "You know where to find me."

Yami, in fact, loved the idea. He waited until Yugi was home alone and getting ready for bed before talking to him about it, and Yugi laid back for a while before going to sleep so the two of them could commune mentally. As long as the weather held fair and warm, they could plan to go to the beach with Joey and spend the day hanging out. The pharaoh's spirit could sense things in Yugi's deepest thoughts which he didn't even want to admit to himself, like the subconscious fear that as Joey and Mai's wedding became less abstract and more tangible – now that they had set a date – it would mean a gradual end to the friendship to which they had become comfortably accustomed. Yugi had heard of it happening before, how people changed after they got married and started spending all their time with their spouse rather than their friends and eventually dropped all their old pals, haunts, and hobbies. He didn't want it to happen to him and Joey, but he never said anything about it even to Yami. The fear lingered in the back of his mind, unspoken, where the pharaoh could sense it and ponder. The proposed "boys' day out" would go a long way toward assuaging Yugi's worries, and show him that Joey was still his best buddy even if both of them had significant others to whom their lives belonged. For that reason, Yami insisted that they take Joey up on the idea – though, he also wanted very much to go to the beach and soak his toes in the ocean again.

Mai had been moving up in the company and was now a high-level editor who got to go on trips to exotic locales in order to wrangle models for fashion photo shoots. This time she was, in fact, going to Hawaii, and cheekily promised to bring a seashell back for Yugi if he kept Joey out of trouble for the week. It meant Joey had all access to the car – the brand _new_ car, the convertible Mai had just bought with a promotion bonus – and Yugi didn't have to even think about taking the train. Because of work, he didn't get a very good nap in before midnight on the night of the full moon, so the ritual drained him of enough energy to render him sleepy and somewhat insensible in his partner's embodied arms. Yami picked him up and put him to bed, insisting that he get plenty of sleep so they could have fun all day tomorrow. He contented himself with lying beside Yugi, serving as a pillow, while his young love slumbered with arms fastened around his partner's lean body. There would be plenty of time for more strenuous activities the next night, after they tired of sun and surf and wanted to be alone.

The summer weather had turned hot again, meaning that quite a number of people had the same idea as the boys that day. The beach was crowded, but not unpleasantly so, and there was enough space left near the waterline for the three of them to stake out their towels for an afternoon of playing in the surf, lying in the hot sun, and forgetting about the rest of the world. Since they hadn't been swimming or beachcombing since the first time, once again Yami had to borrow Yugi's only pair of swim trunks that still fit either of them, but Yugi passed it off with ease. "I'm not going to go in above my knees anyway," he reminded both partner and friend. "I don't want to get the Puzzle's chain wet."

Joey peered curiously at him as he relaxed on the towel and lifted his face to the sun. "You seriously don't take it off at all, on your ritual days?"

"Well…no." Yugi turned to him with a cute smile. "We've just gotten used to doing it that way. I don't mind. If it keeps Yami safe, then I'll do anything for him."

"What would it do?" Joey wondered. "If you took it off, I mean."

"Quite honestly, we don't know," Yami admitted. "There isn't an expectation that anything will happen – we are simply being cautious."

"The first time Shadi brought us the ritual, he suggested maybe we should be careful just in case," Yugi explained. "I don't want to break the connection between me and Yami while he's outside the Puzzle, maybe something would happen and he wouldn't be able to return. I don't want to lose him." His violet eyes shone with worry. "Ever since, I've just kept the Puzzle on me as a precaution. It isn't a big deal, I hardly notice it now."

"So you take it in the shower and everything?" Joey asked with a grin.

"Well, yeah…" Yugi pouted, seeing where this was going. "It's not the same as taking it in the ocean. I'm sure the salt water would rust the chain even faster than just having it in the shower with me for five minutes." He picked up the Puzzle and looked at the Eye on its front face. "I'm not worried about the Puzzle itself, it seems to resist even the tiniest chips and scratches, let alone water. It's still in perfect condition after five thousand years. It's just the chain I have to be careful about. That can rust."

"I don't even know why you have it on that big chain in the first place," Joey snorted. "Is it so it'll look cool?"

"No!" Yugi insisted. "It's more secure than that string I used to use. I don't want anybody just grabbing the Puzzle and snapping a cord off my neck." He tried to stifle the impish smirk that threatened to awaken on his lips. "The fact that it looks cool is just a happy side effect. Really, it's for security."

Joey laughed. "Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever you say. No worries, I'm just messin' with ya. If that's the way it's gotta be so you don't lose Yami, then I'm not gonna tell you otherwise. You know better than I do how this ritual stuff works." He glanced at the pharaoh, then, who sat beside Yugi with his shirt already off, basking in the sun. "Everything going all right with that? No more problems?"

Yami gave him a placid look in return. "For the most part, no. We've tried to do the same thing we did at the tournament every time, but I'm starting to think that the problem stems from the amount of energy the ritual requires to create this body out of the shadows." He glanced tenderly at Yugi. "Even though we take precautions, some nights, Yugi doesn't get as much time to eat or sleep and I can see, when I awake, that it takes a considerable amount of his energy."

Yugi smiled back at him. "Well, when it's a day like today, it's not really all that important how awake or energized I am at midnight. As long as the ritual works and you're here, it doesn't matter. Now, if there were something _important_ we needed to be doing, then I would make absolutely sure I get a good nap in first."

"Like going out dancing until four in the morning," the pharaoh teased.

They all laughed at that, and settled down for a nice long lounge in the sun. Whenever it got too hot, or small children nearby too annoying, they took a break and went down to the water's edge together, to at least wade in as far as they could and splash each other to cool off. At one point, Joey convinced Yami to go for a longer swim with him, since they were free to dive underwater and swim out past the wading families. Yugi stood in the shallows with the waves lapping at his knees and watched with a hand shading his eyes as his lover cautiously followed Joey out into deeper water, testing his limits until he found the lack of ground beneath his feet disturbing and decided to swim back in. He still didn't actually know how to swim, but some of the motion felt natural and he knew enough to emulate Joey's movements. Diving down under the waves and feeling the cool water rushing past his face felt delightful, but anything more complicated than that was out of his experience. He splashed his way back to Yugi, and playfully soaked his lover's clothing before they all retreated back to their spot in the sand to rest and dry off.

People from all walks of life gathered together on the beach on days like this in search of the same kind of entertainment, sun and sand and water. Domino City's beach wasn't huge, but it was well-kept, and there were nice concessions providing treats to the hundreds of beachgoers flopped out on towels and blankets under the July sun. Families with small children, elder folk walking along the wet sand, and teenagers celebrating the end of summer term mingled comfortably in the anonymous crowds. A cluster of three young girls had gotten there early to stake out a good spot of sand, and spent most of their day lying out to soak up the sun and show off their bathing suits to any potential teenage boys who might happen past. They took a break to send all but one to the concessions stands for a snack, and sat together enjoying sodas and frozen popsicles while they looked around and sized up the crowds for potential eye candy. "Boys don't just go to the beach like we do," one complained to her cohorts. "I bet you any guy you see here today only came here because a girlfriend dragged him."

"That doesn't mean we can't still look and appreciate," a second giggled. "Besides, you never know what you'll find. Could be that special one is just walking on the beach, available, waiting to meet the right girl…"

"Yeah right," the third snorted.

"See anything while we were gone?" the first asked her.

"Not really," the third girl sighed. "It's not a good day for boy-watching."

"Ooo, what about him?" the second suddenly interrupted, pointing.

Her friends turned her way, trying to follow her gesture before she had to politely hide it. "Where? Which one?"

"The blond guy, over there." Second girl leaned back to speak more confidently to her cohorts, gesturing behind her hand so as not to be caught crudely pointing and gawking. "Next to the kid with the weird spiky hair. Look at the muscles on him!"

The other two sighed appreciatively at the same time. "Nice catch," the first girl complimented. "He's not all bulky but he is…"

"Built," the third finished for her. "Nice chest, nice abs…"

"He looks so hot with just that necklace hanging over his chest," the first added with a wistful sigh. "Kind of looks like a street punk, but…I like them kind of bad."

"You don't see a girlfriend anywhere, do you?" the second girl hastily asked.

"I don't even remember seeing those guys arrive," the third girl mused. "They're all wet, so maybe they were swimming and we just didn't see them."

"The freaky kid next to him isn't bad either," the first girl said thoughtfully. "Kind of skinny, but still cute."

"But would you look at his hair?" the second girl laughed. "And that big necklace he's wearing. It's so…weird."

"Wait a minute. I think I know those guys," the third girl suddenly said in warning.

The other two looked sharply at her. "What?" the first challenged. "What do you mean? Not from school…"

"No, not from school," the third scoffed. "They're way older than us, can't you tell? No, I've seen them before, like…on TV or something." She then sat up with a raised finger indicating epiphany. "That's right! When my brother was watching the world tournament for that Duel Monsters card game he plays. I watched it with him, that's where I saw those guys!" She gazed keenly toward the pair in the distance, nodding to herself, while the others hung over her shoulder trying to pick up on her wisdom. "The little guy with the weird hair is what I remember the most, he's impossible not to recognize. He's the world champion. Yugi…something. And the guy with him is the runner-up, they made a huge deal about those two in the final round both being from Domino and knowing each other." She turned to her friends with a sneaky grin. "Girls, we have just spotted celebrities."

"Minor celebrities," the second girl said dubiously. "I mean…Duel Monsters world champions? That's something your brother is into, but not me."

"Who cares? They're still known." The third girl reached over to her beach bag and began fumbling around in it. "And look at them! Especially the blond guy. He's hot! This is the perfect opportunity to go over and talk to him…"

The other two peered at her. "What are you doing?" the first girl wondered.

The third girl came out of her bag triumphant, with a pen and a scrap of paper. "I'm going to get their autographs," she grinned. "For my brother. He'll wet himself with joy; you know he will. And I'll get the chance to sidle over there and talk to some cute boys for a few minutes." She started to get up, taking a moment to brush sand off her butt and straighten out her swimsuit, and then stood towering over her friends. "You can come with me, or you can chicken out and sit here and watch while I go turn on the charm for a couple of Duel Monsters champions."

Yami had gone to handle the procuring of sodas all by himself, feeling confident in his ability to walk among the world like any normal person, leaving Yugi and Joey to sit and talk while they let the sun dry them off. Before the pharaoh could return to them, though, someone shyly came up behind Yugi and waited until she could catch their attention before interrupting. Joey finished saying something and then blinked at her, seeing as she apparently wanted to talk to them. "Um, hi there," the teenage girl in a two-piece swimsuit said timidly, wiggling her fingers in a sort of wave. "Excuse me, but…are you Yugi, the Duel Monsters world champion?"

Yugi looked up at her from over his shoulder, blinking in wonder. "Uh…yeah, that's me…"

"I thought so," the girl said with a big, beaming smile. "I saw you from over there and recognized you." She thumbed over her shoulder, indicating a random spot somewhere beyond where two more girls sat watching with wide eyes as their audacious friend made her move. "I'm sorry if I interrupted you, and I'm sure this is going to sound really stupid but…can I have your autograph? It's for my brother," she hastily added as she held out the paper and pen she had been hiding in her hand. "He's a _huge_ fan of yours, he made me watch the tournament with him. That's how I knew it was you."

Yugi blushed brilliantly red, but he consented to taking the paper from her and balancing it on his leg to write. "I didn't realize I had fans," he giggled to himself. "At least, not here in my home town."

The girl grinned and then looked at Joey. "You're a Duel Monsters champion too, right? You dueled against Yugi…"

Joey suddenly got a hilariously smug grin on his face. "That's right," he boasted. "Joey Katsuya's the name. Second in the world – and soon to be first," he added tauntingly to Yugi. "Someday."

The girl laughed a little more than the remark deserved. "That's so cool," she gushed. "Two famous champions in one town. It must be my lucky day – can I…my brother have your autograph too?"

"Sure!" Joey crowed happily. Yugi was done, so he handed over the paper and smirked at Joey's enthusiastic rendering of his autograph. "That's kinda nice of you," he added with a smile for the bikini-clad girl. "I've never been asked for mine before."

"I have," Yugi sighed. "It's so weird."

The girl stood with her arms coyly clasped behind her back, beaming. "Well, I couldn't pass up my chance, you know? Thank you so much…" She took the paper back from Joey. "My brother will be so excited when I tell him I met you."

One of the other girls appeared silently at her shoulder, peering curiously into the middle of the group to see what they were talking about. Joey leaned back with a hand on the sand behind him to smile up at them. "No problem. Thanks for the attention."

At that moment, Yami happened to return carrying a little cardboard tray of drinks for his friends. He glanced in curiosity at the two girls chatting with Joey but sank to his knees next to Yugi to offer him the sodas without saying anything. "Oh, there you are," Yugi said happily. "Thanks! Did you have any trouble?"

"No, it went fine," Yami smiled. "I just had to stand in line for a while."

The girls' eyes widened at the newcomer's presence. They had been thinking Yugi was kind of cute, but this new specimen with the same weird hairstyle was captivatingly sexy by comparison! Lean and trim, with beautiful eyes and a graceful way of moving, it was almost enough to make up for his hair. They both collected themselves and looked back and forth between all three young men. "Hi," the autograph girl said brightly. "And you are…?"

Yami looked up, startled. Yugi chuckled. "Sorry, this is Yami. He's, uh…"

"Are you guys, like, twin brothers?" the other girl asked them.

Nonplussed, Yami picked up his soda and concentrated on the straw. Yugi answered for him, kindly reaching to lay a hand on top of his. "No, he's my…he's my boyfriend."

"Oh!" The girls looked at each other. "But you…uh…"

"It's a long story," Yugi said quickly, as if embarrassed.

The other girl looked to Joey. "You're not also…?"

"What? Oh, no," Joey assured, waving his hands. "Just them two."

"Oh, good," the girl said with some relief. Yami gave her a strange look, but said nothing.

The autograph-seeker tried to change the subject rather abruptly. "So, um…you must be out of school…"

"I'm in university," Joey answered casually, not noticing either the attention or Yugi and Yami's lack thereof. "Probably way older than you thought, huh?"

"That's so cool," she gushed. "So, does that mean you're like…old enough to drink?"

A wary look crossed Joey's face. "Uh…yeah…"

"Well, I hope your brother is happy with his autographs," Yugi interrupted, with a cheery emphasis to his voice to conclude the awkward conversation. "Tell him we're sorry we missed the chance to meet him. It's always nice to find more duelists around the city who are still into the tournaments."

"Oh…yeah, sure," the girl stammered, blinking.

Her friend grabbed her arm and began to tow her away. "Come on, Miko's guarding our stuff all by herself. It was nice to meet you," she added to the boys, and both gave them a wave before turning and trudging off across the sand to where their third friend sat by their towels and bags.

The three young men watched them go, and then Joey remarked, "Girls are weird."

"I can't believe they were that forward," Yugi hissed at him. "They came over here to hit on us!"

Joey grinned at him. "Embarrassed or flattered?"

Yugi glanced at Yami, but his stoic partner displayed no particular emotional reaction on his face. "Kinda uncomfortable," the younger one replied. "I mean, it's not like I've never signed autographs before, I told you about the game expo last fall…"

"Yeah, and that freaked you out big time."

"But this is just…odd." Yugi glanced over his shoulder; the three girls were now huddled together, whispering amongst themselves and giving them occasional furtive glances. He turned back to partner and friend and picked up his icy-cold soda. "I don't mind a friendly fan now and then, but they got all weird when I introduced Yami as my boyfriend."

"Ah, yeah, I noticed that," Joey said sympathetically. "Sorry man, but people are still stupid. If it makes you feel any better," he added with a cheesy grin, "I think they were after me, not you."

"And you have a fiancé!" Yugi scolded him.

"I know, I know! If they had gone any further I was gonna let 'em down easy. No harm in friendly chatter." He leaned over and patted Yugi on the shoulder. "Forget about 'em. They're just high school girls anyway, what do they know?"

Yugi glanced from him to Yami, who once again sat with his usual calm betraying nothing of what he might be thinking inside, sipping at his soda. "Are you okay? Did they bother you at all?"

The pharaoh raised an eyebrow and gave him a faint smile. "No more than usual. I've come to expect a certain level of ignorance from people. I paid it no mind."

"Okay. As long as you're not upset." Yugi took a breath and let it out, finally able to smile. "You're right, let's forget about them. They're not worth it."

Beyond them, the girls sat talking, digesting what had just happened while the third girl tucked away her autographed paper for her brother. "Can you believe it? He said that was his _boy_ friend!" the other hissed. "I didn't know gay people were into card games…"

"I had no idea," girl number three whispered back. "I mean, they don't tell you stuff like that when you're watching tournaments. Oh man…no, I better not tell my brother. He'll flip out!"

"No, don't go around telling people that!" the other girl said with a shiver. "That's just wrong…"

"Hey, it's not that big a deal." Their friend Miko, who had remained in place, gazed past them to where the three young men sat enjoying their sodas and talking casually amongst themselves. "So he's gay. What's the problem?"

The other two girls shared an exasperated look. "Oh, that's right," autograph girl sighed. "She's into that boyslove stuff."

"Well, yeah! It's hot!" Miko grinned at her friends and then sat back to surreptitiously observe the boys, just in case they felt like being openly affectionate in front of an audience. "You guys need to seriously relax. It's a normal thing, it's not like there's no gay men in Domino at all, ever. Haven't you heard about some of the dance clubs downtown?"

The other two shook their heads and decided to look elsewhere for boys to ogle. They did not share their friend's opinion and had better targets to watch than boys who didn't like girls.

Despite their proximity to the ocean, there wasn't enough of a breeze to make up for the extremely hot sun beating down on them, so Yugi, Yami, and Joey tired of lazing around earlier than they expected and started to talk about leaving. They had tentatively talked of going back to Joey's to change and then out for food and goofing off, not willing to cut the "boys' day out" short for anything. For a while they sat on their towels discussing where might be the best to go for food, and then Joey sat forward with his elbows on his knees. "All right, then. If you guys are up for it, that's what we'll do. You can shower off and change at my place, and then we'll hit the indoor mall for a bit. See if their little arcade is worth anything."

"It's probably smaller than Duke's shop," Yugi laughed, "but considering Duke and Tristan are too busy with work and other stuff to join us today anyway…"

"It's all right." Yami leaned over and favored him with a kiss on the cheek before handing him his shirt. "That leaves more time for the three of us to spend together."

"Yeah, I don't get to hang out with you guys as much as I want," Joey pouted. "Stupid school and stupid work."

"How'd you get off today, anyway?" Yugi wondered while wrestling with his t-shirt.

"They worked me double-shifts last weekend so they owed me," Joey shrugged. "All that hard work is paying off, though – check this out!" He flexed an arm, eliciting giggles from Yugi and a wry smile from Yami. "Aw yeah. No wonder those girls wanted to flirt with me."

"And then you'd have to tell them you're engaged and watch their dreams die," Yugi said with a smirk.

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm hot," Joey grinned, at which the other two burst out laughing.

They pulled their shirts on and gathered their things together, deciding to walk back across the sand barefoot until they made it to the sidewalks. The pavement was liable to be extra-scorching today, but for now, they carried their shoes and padded across the shifting sand, still talking amongst themselves. Yami slipped his hand into Yugi's, and they paused their conversation just long enough to grin at each other before Yugi kept talking. It was hard to be down about anything with the sun in his eyes and the people he loved around him, but as they walked, Yugi glanced aside at a sudden motion in time to see a parent grab her young child and pull her away from them, turning her around and hiding her eyes. The little girl wasn't even in their path, but the mother spirited her away before the boys passed by. Yugi blinked, disturbed, realizing after a moment that it was exactly what it looked like. Yami had noticed as well, but Joey missed it. "What in the world?" Yugi whispered to his companions. "Did you see that? That lady just hid her child's eyes so she wouldn't see us!"

"What, really?" Joey looked around, but didn't see the mother and child in question.

"Yes, I saw it," Yami murmured.

"No way!" Joey exclaimed.

The sunshine began to fade from Yugi's face. "I don't know what the problem is," he grumbled, "I'm just holding hands with my boyfriend…"

"You're not doing anything wrong, Yug," Joey said firmly, glancing back one more time with a glare in case the woman was still watching them. "You don't do anything rude in public like make out or anything, holding hands is perfectly normal."

"I wish other people would see it that way," Yugi said quietly.

"Give 'em something to really think about," Joey snickered. "Give Yami a big ol' smooch right in front of them."

"I'm not going to do that," Yugi sighed. "I don't want to be a jerk about it."

"Even so, it isn't their place to disapprove," Yami reasoned, glancing down at his partner. "It's no less rude for them to gape or whisper or pull their children away."

Yugi's eyes softened a little, as he walked with his head down. "I guess you have a point," he murmured.

Yami tugged him to a stop and brushed his cheek with his other hand, getting him to look up and start to smile. "It's all right, Yugi. I feel the stares, too, but I don't intend to let them bother me. I don't get the chance to be out here with you very often, I want to make the most of it just as much as you do." He bent down and kissed Yugi lightly on the lips, a tender little smooch of affection, and then straightened up and smiled cutely. "As long as we're not being rude, we should expect the same from others. Right?"

Yugi smiled softly back. "Right."

They started off again, deliberately not looking around at people just in case any of them had any adverse reactions to their open affection. Once they reached the sidewalk they had to stop and put their shoes on, but then Yami's hand was right back in Yugi's, guiding him along the walk toward the parking lot. Yugi's feelings had been soothed, but now he remained thoughtful, inwardly pondering the gamut of reactions he had received today and why they all seemed to happen at once. He knew that people generally were not likely to accept same-sex relationships, but so often he was able to go around the city with Yami on their ritual days without a single incident. Why today? Why did people seem so keen on staring, whispering, and turning away from two young men who just wanted to hold hands? They had agreed early in the day, before Joey picked them up, that places like the beach were too public to get caught making out, but they didn't have any intentions of doing so anyway. Other couples could walk down the street or loiter around the park or beach wrapped up in self-indulgent kisses, why couldn't he? And what of the mother who whisked her child out of their way as if holding hands with another boy meant he was prone to kidnapping and molesting her? It bothered him, of course, but Yami was right. They should be treated with respect like any other couple, even though he knew they weren't ever going to get it. At least they had friends who cared, a grandpa who loved them, and each other. Yugi glanced aside at his partner as they walked to the car and smiled to himself. It was a true miracle that he could even hold this hand in the first place, perhaps he shouldn't take it for granted.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 10

Joey handled Mai's car with ease as they cruised through the city streets, the top down so they could feel the warm wind in their hair. Yugi sat beside him in the front, face tilted up to enjoy the pleasure of the drive, while Yami sat placidly in back, lost in his thoughts as he gazed at the sights they passed. Yugi was himself rather wrapped in thought, as he had been since leaving the beach. Much of what Yami and Joey had said was still circling around and around in his mind, no longer dwelling on the unpleasant reactions they saw in other people, but diving deeper, stirring up curiosities and worries he had never entertained before. He kept returning to the mother on the beach, hiding her child's eyes from the men holding hands, and wondered. Grandpa Muto had accepted his newfound sexual preference without issue, but Yugi wondered if his own parents would have done the same, if they had ever known. Had they learned at Grandpa's knee how to treat people, or would they have been like the woman on the beach, shrinking away from him as though he were a demon? They never knew this side of him, they never even got to meet Yami. He wanted to hope that since his grandfather had been so good about it, they also would have, but the truth was, he didn't know. The thought made him sigh sadly, at which Joey glanced aside and commented, "If you keep doing that, I'm going to hold you upside down by your ankles and make Yami tickle you until you can't sigh anymore."

"What? Oh…sorry," Yugi said sheepishly. "I was just thinking."

"Yugi?" the pharaoh asked from the back seat. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah," Yugi replied, though not very convincingly. "It's nothing to worry about." He shifted his eyes to Joey beside him. "I'm really lucky to have friends who accepted me right from the start, and Grandpa, too. It could have been so much worse. Like Tristan, his little brother still won't talk to him."

"Yeah," Joey remarked. "Téa was the only one who freaked out on you, but there were some deeper issues there."

"And she's okay now," Yugi added. "I don't need to worry about strangers on the street, because I have friends to back me up."

"Then what are you sighing about?" Joey teased him with a sidelong grin. "You've got it good, Yug, real good. Everything's lookin' up for you, there's nothin' to worry about."

"I just couldn't help but think…" Yugi lowered his head, staring at his hands in his lap. "…about my parents. They never had the chance to find out that I…that Yami and I…"

Joey's eyebrows went up. Fortunately, they were pulling up to a stoplight, so he could turn his head and give his best friend a genuinely boggled look. "Your parents? What's got you thinking about that out of nowhere?"

"Just…things," Yugi shrugged awkwardly. "It made me realize…that I honestly don't know what they would say if they were alive to see me with Yami. So much of what I remember of them is so faint, I was practically raised by my grandpa. I wish I could know…I wish I had the chance to show them how happy I am, even if they didn't accept me."

Joey glanced at him again, but the light changed and he had to turn his attention to the road. They weren't far from home, anyway. "They'd accept you," he said reassuringly. "You're their only son, why wouldn't they?"

"Not everybody is so good about it," Yugi reminded him. "Even to their own kids." He glanced into the back seat, but Yami was merely sitting there listening, his eyes calm, violet pools with no shadows lurking inside. "I hadn't really thought about it before, but…I guess there's no way to really know for sure."

"Don't worry about it," Joey said, reaching over and patting his leg. "If they were any bit as cool as Grandpa, I'd say you're in the clear. There's no sense making yourself crazy over a what-might-have-been. Come on." He turned the car easily into the lot behind his flat and swung into a parking space. "We're here. Let's make this quick, I'm hungry!"

Yugi dropped the subject while they went upstairs to the flat with their things, accepting Joey's insistence that he and Yami take the shower first since they were guests. Yugi only really needed to soak his feet for a bit, Yami was the one who had gone swimming. The younger one sat on the edge of the sink to watch his partner bathe, trading sultry, suggestive glances through the shower curtain, and then settled himself down to scrub his sandy toes while Yami dried off and fixed his hair. They hadn't spoken much since arriving, and even now Yugi sat in ponderous silence while his lover vigorously toweled his hair dry behind him. At last, Yugi lifted his head and ventured, "Say, Yami…"

"Hm?" The pharaoh turned to him, fresh and clean and naked with a towel over his head and one eyebrow raised curiously.

"Next month, at the next full moon…" Yugi looked back over his shoulder, his eyes wide and sad. "Would you be willing to go with me to the cemetery?"

"The cemetery?" Yami repeated. "Why?"

Yugi lowered his gaze. "To visit my parents."

The towel fell off Yami's head. He wrapped it around his waist instead and went to stand behind his young lover, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Of course I would," he replied in a gentle murmur. "But why now? You've never suggested it before…"

Heaving a sigh, Yugi shook his head slowly. "I haven't done it in a long time," he admitted. "I'm really overdue. I just…well, I don't really have an excuse." He gave his partner a sheepish look. "I might have said I was busy, didn't have time, or whatever, but the truth is, I just never thought about them enough to want to go and visit them." He looked away, then, staring down at his feet swishing in the water. "How much do you…have you…figured out, about my parents?"

"Nothing," Yami said, making Yugi look up at him in surprise. He gave him a gentle smile as he explained. "Inside your mind, the knowledge and memory of your family and your past appears to me like a locked chest, and even though I have the key to it, now that you've entrusted me with your heart, I don't wish to open it and see for myself. I want you to be able to tell me, in your own way. Of all the things you still keep to yourself, it seems to me that your family history is perhaps too painful, and the least likely for you to open up to anyone about. You never speak of parents, not even to your friends."

Yugi closed his eyes and leaned back into the comforting touch behind him. "I grew up with Grandpa, I kind of unconsciously think of him as my only family," he said quietly. "My friends never knew my parents, they were both gone by the time I solved the Millennium Puzzle and met everybody. There's only ever been Grandpa, and he loves me and supports me and taught me everything I know. It's not that it's painful…" He lifted his gaze to his partner. "It's not, it's just…I don't remember much of them. But I should be a good son, and go visit them. It really is time." His eyes lightened very slightly. "After all…I should introduce you."

"Then, by all means." Yami crouched down behind him and hugged him around the shoulders, burying his face in Yugi's neck. "Next month when I'm free from the Puzzle, we will go to the cemetery and visit your parents' grave. I would be honored."

Yugi held on to the arms around his shoulders and leaned his head back, resting it against Yami's. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

"Of course. Now, let's get dressed and leave the shower to Joey," the pharaoh suggested, standing and giving his lover a smirk. "Before he starts thinking we're up to something in here."

Yugi laughed, his heart considerably lightened by the agreement with Yami. "Yeah, let's go. I'm getting kind of hungry, too. We've got the whole night ahead of us."

Talking it out and making a plan for next month put Yugi's mind at ease, leaving him free to cheer up and forget about heavy thoughts for the rest of the night. He and Yami changed into going-out clothes and gave Joey his bathroom back so he could shower as well, and retreated to the living room to wait for him. Upon coming out all clean and changed, Joey caught the two of them making out on the couch, and growled at their lack of discretion while they just laughed. They wouldn't do it in public, but Joey's living room didn't count as public. With everyone in a good mood, now, they piled back into the car and headed to the far side of downtown where the indoor mall enjoyed brisk business, especially on days like today when it was too warm to walk along the pedestrian mall or outdoor marketplace. Inside the air-conditioned place they could get food, wander around, and play in the little arcade all they wanted without breaking a sweat. Considering how busy the food court was, it seemed a lot of people had the same idea. Being as all three were rather hungry now, they took care of that first, and sat around at a table chatting for a long time before deciding what to do with themselves next. Nothing contained within the mall exceeded the level of "family friendly" entertainment, but the three of them weren't the sort to want to go to bars or indulge in anything particularly adult, even on a boys' night out. Yugi suggested they make their way along the line of shops to the arcade at a leisurely pace, and stop in to window-shop if they saw anything that caught their eye on the way. Being as no one had a better idea, they went for it, depositing their trash and heading off with Yugi and Yami hand-in-hand as usual. After talking through everything earlier, Yugi found it all the more comfortable and pleasing to be able to walk with Yami in this way.

As expected, the arcade was very small and full of kids at this time of night, so they only hung around long enough to play a little air hockey before moving on, taking a long walk around the indoor byways and glancing idly through shop windows as they went. They walked three abreast with Yugi in the middle, so he could bask in the affections of his partner on one side and chatter enthusiastically with Joey on the other. For a while they amused themselves in the bookstore paging through new manga, but Yugi didn't have any extra money on him and had to put back all the nice new volumes of the series he sort-of wanted. Yami had to wrap his arms around him in order to drag him out, with Joey chuckling beside them. Next door was a clothing shop catering to teens with Americanized tastes, so they had a good time mocking the rip off styles as they passed it and went looking for something else to do. About that time, Joey glanced over his shoulder and then leaned in closer to his friends. "Hey, uh, guys? Is it just me, or are we being followed?"

"Huh?" Yugi glanced up at him, and then at Yami, who had taken a very subtle, surreptitious glance himself to verify it. "What is it?"

"Now that you mention it, I did see that person in the bookstore," the pharaoh murmured.

"And before that, outside the arcade when we came out." Joey tucked his hands in his pockets and studiously faced forward, a frown on his lips. "I mean, I know this is a shopping center and all, but it's not _that_ small that we keep seeing the same guy over and over."

Yugi finally was able to sneak a look back, and what he saw made him cuddle even closer to his partner's side. "He doesn't look very happy," he said so only the two of them could hear.

"Well, we haven't done anything except maybe giggle too loud in the bookstore," Joey snorted, "So I don't know what he's following us for. Just ignore him."

They completed a circuit of that level of the mall, bringing them back around to the arcade to see that it had cleared out some and they could get in to play video games if they wanted. Yami stood aside to watch while Yugi and Joey battled each other at a shooting game, laughing and generally carrying on as geeky pals should, but there wasn't much else there to hold their interest. As games went, most of them were out of date or easily playable on home consoles for free, so they had their fun and walked out discussing maybe going somewhere else, not necessarily dancing but perhaps for a walk to check out the nightlife now that they were old enough to enter any place they might have wished. "I'm not really interested in bars," Yugi pointed out as Yami deftly insinuated his fingers between Yugi's and clasped their hands, "but a lot of those karaoke places and stuff have bars so we could never go in them before."

"Yeah, there is that," Joey agreed. "Karaoke sounds like a great idea."

"That's where you get up in front of people and sing?" Yami asked warily. "I don't know that I'd be very good at that…"

Yugi laughed at him. "What the matter? A little stage fright? _You_?" He paused and turned to face his partner, clasping both his hands and leaning up to nuzzle him playfully. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the big, bad microphone."

Yami gave him an exasperated look, but couldn't resist his young love's proximity and favored him with a tiny kiss. "I would be very amused to watch _you_ get up on a stage and sing."

"Hey, watch out, I just might," Yugi grinned back.

"Would you people give it a rest already?" a strange voice intruded on them, raised in anger. "Just what do you think you're doing? We don't need to see that kind of filthy behavior around here."

All three of the boys turned sharply to see the speaker, hoping his snarl wasn't directed at them. Alas, it was – the stranger who had been trailing them earlier was glaring at them, standing just a few feet away in a confrontational stance. Kids milling around outside the arcade stopped and stared, wondering. Yugi and Yami gave their accuser a genuinely confused look while Joey glared back. "You got a problem with us?" he challenged.

"Yeah, with those two," the man growled, pointing at the identical pair. "All night long you've been going around here like a couple of perverts, groping each other. Why don't you faggots take it somewhere else?"

Yugi gaped at him, while Yami's brow furrowed in a dangerous sort of frown. "Excuse me?" the younger one retorted. "We haven't been doing anything like that! What do you think you're doing following us, anyway?"

"Yeah, you like being a spectator?" Joey taunted.

The man drew himself up, bristling. An even larger crowd was beginning to gather around them, mostly made of curious kids who might start egging on either party shortly. "It's kind of hard not to when you're going around flaunting it in public," he shot back. "It's disgusting. There are families in here, and little kids – don't you fags have any sense of decency?"

"I might say the same of you," Yami said sternly, placing himself in front of Yugi but not letting go of his hand. "Making a scene and cursing in front of all these young people is no way to behave."

"We aren't doing anything wrong," Yugi added from behind his partner's arm. "There are people right here in the arcade doing much worse things than hold hands, and you aren't getting upset at them. Why don't you just leave us alone?"

"Somebody's got to put you freaks in your place," the man snarled.

Joey stepped forcefully in front of both of his friends. "There isn't gonna be any putting of anybody in their place," he warned. "Back off, dude. We're not looking for trouble and we haven't done anything to you, so just make yourself scarce. Got it?"

"You people should just leave, before you get hurt," the man continued to rant.

Yugi shrank away behind Yami. "Maybe we should, guys. We don't need to…"

"No." Joey turned to face their accuser squarely. "We have just as much a right to hang out in the mall as anybody else here, nobody can tell us to leave just because they don't like us. You wanna play in the arcade, Yug, I'm gonna make sure nobody stops you."

The crowd around them began to murmur appreciatively, sensing that a fight was about to break out. Yugi looked furtively around for security officers to come and break it up. The stranger took a couple of aggressive steps forward, sneering. "Are you a fag, too? Gonna slap me around a bit?"

Joey faced him down with a glare. "Not that it's any of your business, but no. I'm just here to stand up for my best friend and show him that I won't let anybody talk down about him for any reason." His brown eyes narrowed. "If it takes cracking your skull to do that, so be it. I ain't afraid of a little tussle with the likes of you."

The lingering crowd drew into a tight ring, practically forcing the fight to happen. The strange man didn't back down, striding boldly up to within striking distance of Joey. They were nearly the same height, and perhaps build, though Joey's was hidden beneath his shirt, giving him the illusion of being a soft geek. Then, Yami suddenly stepped up at Joey's left side, his hands clenched into fists and a dark glare in his eyes. "I'm not going to let you take on this beast alone," he murmured. "This isn't your fight, Joey, he has nothing against you…"

"He's got nothin' against you, either," Joey reminded him, "except his homophobia. It's okay; I got this. I wanna be here for you, stand up for you."

Yugi appeared at his right elbow, also glaring. "And we want to be here for you, too. So if you don't mind, we've got your back. That's what friends are for."

Joey grinned sidelong at him. "Thanks, Yug. That sounds like a deal I can work with."

The thug glared down all three of them. "You stupid kids, is this some kind of joke? I can take all three of you – the little one wouldn't be able to stand up to a strong breeze."

Yugi pouted angrily, but Joey just held up a hand to restrain him. "Is that the best you got?" he said mockingly. "What kind of a fight are you looking for, man? I'll lay you out if that's what you want, but if you're lookin' for a war of wit…you're totally unarmed." He glanced at Yugi with a sly chuckle. "I bet he's all talk anyway. Freaked out by a couple of boys holding hands, and he's gotta go prove his manhood by insulting you in public. I've seen worse."

"True," Yugi said warily, not sure where Joey was going with this line of provocation, "I've had worse done to me."

"Be careful, Joey," Yami warned. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"No worries," Joey said confidently. "I don't wanna drag this out, either. But if all this guy's got is insults, this'll be over quick."

"What's the matter – scared?" the man spat at him. "Think you can talk your way out of this?"

"Dude – do you want a fight or not?" Joey complained. "If you want to throw a few punches, let's take this outside the mall before security gets wind of it. But if you got other plans in mind, just get it over with. Sheesh!" He tossed up his hands, making some of the onlookers giggle. "If all he wants to do is make his point in front of a crowd, here's his chance." He set his hands on his hips and suddenly glared down the attacker, stepping forward into the ring of spectators to confront him. "I'm callin' you on it. It's all good for you to sneak up on us and throw a few insults at my friends, but now that there's people around, you're just a big coward. You got nothin'. I don't even know why you're making such a big deal out of the fact they're gay. It's not like you know them or nothin'."

"It's a big deal because it's not normal!" the man shouted. "They're sick and disgusting and need to be taken care of!"

"Taken care of how – gotten rid of?" Joey said daringly. "You one of those homophobic types who wants to kill all the gays?"

The thug bristled but didn't answer. "Nobody else is going to do it. It's up to people like me to stand up and say, we don't want that in our towns and neighborhoods. I'll be happy to drive you out of this place, and leave the rest of us in peace."

"It seems to me things were rather peaceful until you started shouting," Yami murmured.

"So, what, it's your moral obligation or something?" Joey looked around the crowd, finding most of the young people just staring, not sure what to think. "Yeah, that's a good move. The moral high ground means you gotta beat up some guys and force them to leave the mall just when they were about to corrupt the arcade with their gay mind control. Ooo…I'm shakin'."

The thug seethed even more, the fists at his sides quivering with strain. How much more of Joey's taunting it was going to take before he broke and threw a punch was anyone's guess, but Joey stood his ground, not making any violent moves. He wouldn't be the one accused of starting the fight, and he had plenty of witnesses. The strange man just pointed a finger forcefully in his face. "You think you're so high and mighty? You hang around with fags. That makes you just as disgusting as they are. Once I'm through with you, there'll be no one to protect them, they'll snap like the little fairy twigs they are."

"That's if you can get through me, first," Joey said darkly, folding his arms over his chest. The move actually made his short sleeves ride up, exposing his muscled arms. "I don't know what your problem is, man. We don't know you, we haven't said anything to you, hell, we didn't even accidentally walk into your path. You just decided you have to take down the gay boys because you didn't like to see them out in public? Damn…you're messed up." He shook his head. "I don't even know why I'm trying to reason with you, I oughta just clean your clock and get on with my night."

"I'd like to see you try," the man sneered, finally raising a fist. "Come on, you little cocksucker. Take me on so you can go home with your fairy friends and let them suck yours, too."

Joey's eyes darkened with swift anger, but he didn't drop his arms. He only lowered his head and glared daggers at the man. "Have you no shame?" he growled. "There are little kids and families around here. Saying stuff like that in public…what's wrong with you?"

The man flinched, hearing his own words repeated back at him. "I'm not the one with a problem," he argued. "You're the disgusting ones."

Joey tilted his head casually to one side, giving his opponent a cool, appraising look. "You know," he said with a thoughtful lilt, "I read somewhere, the most violent anti-gay reactions usually come from folks who are still in the closet. Kinda self-denial, you know."

That was the trigger he had been looking for; the man suddenly roared and lunged at him, swinging his fist. Joey deftly dodged it, stepping to one side and letting his opponent flail and stumble. He whirled around to throw another punch, but Joey advanced suddenly on him, eyes blazing, making him fumble and start and back away in mid-step. Joey's movement drove him backwards into Yugi, who lunged out of the way just in time. His foot caught the strange man's, and the thug tripped over it and landed on the tiled mall floor with a thud. The crowd scattered away from him and began to titter at his failure. Yami took Yugi by the arm, keeping him out of the way, though both of them were ready to jump in if Joey called for them. Joey just stood over the fallen man, having never laid a finger on him. "Go on, get out of here!" he said savagely, letting his anger pour through now that he didn't have to keep up the mocking façade any longer. "You're the one making all the trouble. Leave my friends alone!"

The man tried to get up and lunge at him again, but Joey lifted a foot and braced it against his shoulder, knocking him off-balance and onto his ass again. The crowd laughed even more, making the thug red in the face. He heaved himself up and retreated, forcing people to duck out of the way of his flailing. "This isn't over!" he vowed, pointing at Joey. "Nobody humiliates me in public and gets away with it!" People in the crowd were eyeing him as though he were drunk or mental, so he thrashed through them and disappeared across the mall.

Yugi let out a huge sigh of relief. Joey stood where he was to make sure their attacker was gone, and the crowd's reluctant dispersal told him they were in the clear – nobody wanted to stick around if there wasn't a fight to watch. To their surprise, a few strangers from the crowd stopped briefly by Yugi to pat him on the shoulder and ask if they were all right, or express their sympathy that that guy was such a jerk. Joey joined his friends, then, and Yugi clasped his hand gratefully. "Thanks, Joey! You were awesome!"

"Nah," Joey said, cracking a smile. "Just doing my duty for my best buds. You guys okay?"

"We're fine," Yami assured. "That was brave of you, Joey, but perhaps not the smartest thing in the world…"

"Hey, I never said I was smart," Joey smirked. "I just had to make sure that guy wasn't gonna hurt anybody, least of all, you two. Not that I don't think you can handle yourselves…I just wanted to make a point."

"I think you made it, rather well," Yugi said with an admiring smile.

Joey huffed a sigh and tossed back his head to get his bangs out of his eyes. "Well, I'm sure that totally ruined our fun for tonight. What do you want to do?"

"Well, I don't feel like going out for karaoke now," Yugi grumbled.

"Maybe a few more games, to bring our spirits back up?" Yami suggested.

"That oughta work," Joey consented, leading the way back into the arcade. All the kids who had come to watch the fight had returned there as well. "I didn't get to hit anything, so now I'm all riled up and need an outlet for my aggression. Time to go shoot some aliens some more, eh Yug?"

They played video games for another half an hour or so, but no matter who played who at what game, shooting or driving or air hockey, it didn't help the mood much. All of them had been soured by the unpleasant encounter with the brainless thug, and after a while, when Yugi sighed and suggested they call it a night, there was no argument. "Are you sure?" Yugi asked to make sure, as Yami put an arm around him to guide him out. "I don't want to cut the night short if you still wanted to do something, Joey."

"Nah, it's okay," Joey assured, taking the lead. "I'm sure you two could use some quality time. Your stuff's in the car so I can drop you off easy, from here." He playfully mocked punching Yugi in the cheek, just nudging him with his knuckle. "It was a great day up until the very last part, so hey. I got more than my share of fun in. Thanks for hangin' out with me, guys."

"Well, thanks for the awesome idea, Joey," Yugi smiled. "We'll do it again. Mai should go out of town more often."

They found the nearest door and made their way to the parking lot across the street where Mai's car waited, taking a deep breath of the cooler air that greeted them. The sun had just set, and a cool, blue evening stole across Domino from east to west. The lot was clearing out, and the car stood alone under a streetlamp. Yami walked with Yugi around to the far side to open the door for him and then slide into the back while Joey unlocked the driver's side, but as they stood there chuckling over something, heavy footsteps rushed up to them. Joey turned and nearly leaped out of his skin in shock as a gun nosed into his face. Yugi gave a yelp of surprise, clutching at Yami's arm. It was the same thug from earlier, he had found them again and this time, with a weapon and no one else around to see. He appeared to have been even further enraged, for the hand holding the gun pointed at Joey shook. Joey raised his hands, his eyes wide. "Whoa, easy there," he said as calmly as he could. "What do you want with us now? Let's not do anything crazy, here…"

The man glared him down. "I told you it wasn't over," he seethed. "Let's see how cocky you are now, kid, without anyone around to back you up."

"Whoa, hey, take it easy," Joey stammered as the gun wavered in his face. "Look, I don't know what your problem is with us, but it's not worth it. Just let it go, all right? We're just gonna get in the car and leave, now, and you can do the same, all right?"

The man thrust the gun at him. "You're not leaving here until I get some satisfaction! You humiliated me in front of those people, you need to pay for that mistake!"

Yami edged in front of Yugi to protect him, feeling his partner's hands tightening on his arm. If only there were some sort of shadow spell he could use, but he couldn't think of anything that might work. He had the connection to the Puzzle he needed, but the man with the gun was far too unstable, he didn't want to call forth his powers from the Puzzle only to have the guy freak out and start shooting. The pharaoh glanced around, but the parking lot was deserted. Mostly – he thought he saw someone a few rows of cars over, but he couldn't be sure unless he took his eyes completely off the thug on the other side of the car threatening Joey. And that was something he knew he shouldn't do just now.

Joey kept his hands raised to show he was no threat. "Okay, that wasn't fun for you, I get it," he said, trying to keep urgency or anger out of his voice. "But this isn't any way to solve it. I could apologize to you, but I wouldn't mean it, I'd only be saying it because I have a gun to my head. You don't want that. And I'm not gonna apologize anyway," he added, his brow furrowing. "You attacked my friends, I was just standin' up for them."

"I don't want to hear it," the man spat. "You mocked me, and now you're going to pay for it."

"Okay, okay," Joey said placatingly, waving his hands. "Just chill out for a second, all right? Man, what are you so upset about – that I embarrassed you in front of strangers, or is this still about my friends being gay?"

The thug's eyes shifted wildly to Yugi and Yami on the far side of the car where they were hiding. "Oh, don't worry. When I'm through with you, they're next. I'm not gonna let a couple of fags like them prance around here thinking they can do whatever they want."

"I'm not gonna let you do that." Joey's face darkened. "You can do whatever you want to me, but leave them out of it."

"Joey!" Yugi cried out from behind him.

"Stay out of this, Yug," Joey warned over his shoulder. "Don't make me have Yami take you somewhere to get you out of the way."

"Joey, please, be careful," Yami implored.

"It's okay." Joey shifted his eyes back to his attacker. "I can handle this. Look, man," he added to the thug, "we don't need to go this far. I got nothin' against you, I'm perfectly fine with just letting you walk away and forgetting any of this ever happened. Losing face to me ain't worth going to jail over."

"What do you mean?" the man growled.

"I mean, the police are gonna come and you know the penalties for having a gun on public property like this," Joey explained, his hands still up. He was trying to talk the man down, despite all his inner instincts to jump him and wrestle away the weapon. But he had Yugi to think about, and didn't want his best friend to watch him do something stupid and potentially fatal. "I'm just sayin', you got a chance to just drop it and let it all go away. Don't say I didn't warn you – when the cops show up…"

"It'll all be over by that time." The gun thrust forward again.

"Wait, wait, hold it," Joey begged. "Come on…you just want a chance to prove yourself, right? Hey, I'm all for dropping the gun and the two of us settling this like men. Fists only. The honorable way. Right?"

For a moment the gun lowered, as it seemed the man was considering it. But then he just glared all over again. "You can't fool me. You're just a coward. Now that I have the upper hand, you're trying to talk me out of it. I knew it. You've got no balls at all."

"I said I'd fight you," Joey argued. "What do you call that?"

"Please, just leave us alone!" Yugi pleaded. "We don't want any trouble. We're leaving anyway, just let us go!"

A sick smile twisted the man's face. "Don't worry, I'll get to you in a second. I just have to clear this one out of my way first."

"Don't do it," Joey said warningly, waving his hands entreatingly again. "I'm so not worth prison time, man. You want to smack me around a bit, go ahead, if it'll make you feel better. Just don't do something you're gonna regret."

"Oh, I doubt I'll regret it…" The gun raised one more time.

At that instant, two police cars which had just silently cruised into the parking lot zoomed up on either side, their lights flashing suddenly to life. Startled, the thug looked wildly around and then dashed away, desperately seeking escape. But he had the misfortune of running straight into an officer, who went down into a stance and pointed his own gun, yelling, "Drop it! Drop the gun!"

Officers swarmed out of the cars, and even as the thug dropped his piece, they piled on him and took him down. Joey finally felt free to lower his arms, breathing the biggest sigh of relief. Yugi ducked into Yami's arms and hid his face against his chest, thankful to feel a tight, protective embrace around him. Yami stared at the police cars, and then past them to a handful of civilians who had been drawn by the lights and commotion. Among them was a woman with a cell phone, talking excitedly to the person next to her. Within mere seconds it was over, and then the officers were circling around them, asking them if they were all right and what was going on. Yami guided his young partner around the car to be able to speak with the officers, as Joey started explaining everything from the harassment inside the mall up until now. "Man, you guys came just in the nick of time," he exclaimed when he finished. "How did you know? I never got a chance to even get my phone out, much less call the police…"

One of the officers gestured behind him. "Someone called in and said there was a man with a gun in this parking lot. They didn't know what was going on, but called us right away just in case."

"I'm glad they did," Joey said, glancing and smiling at Yugi and Yami. "Talk about being lucky."

"You boys are all right?" The officer looked from one to the next. "Nobody got hurt?"

"Nah, we're cool," Joey assured.

The other officers clustered around the attacker, bagging his gun for evidence and talking about what to do with him. The one holding conference with Yugi and Joey turned to them. "Well, the use of the gun means we automatically have to charge and arrest him, even if no one got hurt. Attempted assault is just the beginning of it." He looked back at the boys. "If you wish to press charges…"

Yugi suddenly stepped forward, clenching his jaw sternly. "Yes, I want to press charges!" he declared forcefully. "This time, something has to be done! I'm tired of being stalked, attacked, badmouthed, and generally treated like dirt just because I love another man, and I'm not going to just let it slide anymore." Tears sprang to his eyes, but he managed to keep his voice steady as he railed against the officer and the thug just beyond. "Something has to be done so people like this learn a lesson about treating people differently. If just one person learns that they can't treat people like this just because of who they love…" A sob choked him off, making him stop and just take a deep breath. Yami slid his hands onto his young lover's shoulders in comfort.

"Hey, easy there, Yug," Joey said gently. "It's okay. They'll take care of it."

The officer nodded. "We'll have to take your statements, but yes, we have it under control, now. Using a gun in the commission of a crime, even to threaten someone, is a serious offense. He's not going to walk away from this one."

"Good." Yugi quivered with the force of his anger, but the hands on his shoulders were very soothing. "I'll give you anything you need, I'll even go to court if I have to. I've had it with people attacking me just because of my boyfriend."

"All right. Wait here just a moment." The officer went to consult with the others, leaving the boys to stand together in silence. Joey reached out and rubbed Yugi's arm consolingly, but he was already in good hands and was even starting to sober up bravely so he could talk to the cops about the incident. In a bit, the officer came back to them with a clipboard and pen, and a second officer with a pad of paper. "All right, I'm going to need your information so we can contact you later," he explained, "and a brief statement. If we need more from you, we'll call and have you come down and sign a more detailed statement later." He jotted a few things down which he remembered from Joey's tale earlier. "You say you don't know this man at all?"

Yugi shook his head. "I've never seen him before in my life. We didn't do anything to provoke him, we didn't even speak to him or bump into him or anything before he decided to assault us in the mall. Joey chased him off for us, but he must have been waiting outside for us or something, because we just barely got back here to the car when he showed up with the gun."

The officer eyed Joey. "And you didn't hit him or anything?"

"No sir," Joey said honestly. "I didn't even touch him, he tripped and fell and I just stood in the way so he wouldn't go after Yugi again."

"And then Joey tried to keep him talking so he wouldn't shoot anyone," Yugi offered. "He was the one in the most danger, but he kept his head and just strung the guy along until we could get help."

Joey smiled sidelong at him. "Hey, anything for my best friends."

The officer nodded as he wrote things down, and his partner jotted notes pertaining to their statements. "I'm filling out an incident report I need you to sign, and then you need to give us your information so we can contact you for a followup."

Yugi and Joey both did so, one after the other, but when Yami was ordered to do so, asked them to just put the same information as Yugi because they lived together. It was as much of the truth as he could tell them. The second officer wrote down Joey's name and number, and then gave him a strange look. "Wait a minute. Katsuya. Joey Katsuya. No kidding! I remember you…"

"Eh?" Joey looked boggled.

"I used to work in a north side precinct a few years ago, when you were a middle-school street punk always getting hauled in for fighting and smoking." The officer looked him up and down. "I'd recognize you anywhere, you've grown up but you've still got the same look about you."

Joey peered at him, and then brightened up. "Oh yeah! Come to think of it, I do remember! Damn, that was a long time ago. I was a little brat, wasn't I?"

"Stayed just this side of the law," the officer grinned, "but you were a handful. Good thing you didn't fall in with a gang like I always thought you would. So you're an adult now…" He shook his head. "Has it been that long?"

"Yeah," Joey chuckled. "That was a whole lifetime ago."

"So what have you been doing with yourself? Not getting into more trouble on the other side of town, I hope…"

"Nah," Joey laughed. "I'm in school. University. Gonna be a teacher. Got a fiancé…"

"Really?" the second officer exclaimed.

"Yes, sir. She's an influential fashion mogul and everything. We're getting married in May."

"Well, I'll be." The second officer turned to the first. "You'd never believe it. I used to bust this kid about once a week for cutting school and getting in street fights. I always did wonder what became of some of those kids…"

"Looks like this one turned out for the better," the first officer smirked. "Though that does explain his bravery in standing up to a man with a gun. Not many people I know who wouldn't completely lose their heads over something like that."

The second officer shook his head again in disbelief. "It's a wonder, Katsuya. I don't know how you managed to turn out so well, polite and brave, going to university, getting married. Something must have happened to straighten you out."

Joey tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged modestly. "Nah, not much. I just happened to fall in with a better crowd." He gave Yugi a warm smile that soothed away the last of his anger and worry. "If anything changed me, it was having Yugi for a friend. He's been looking out for me for a long time, and helped me see what was important in life. 'S why I stood up to that guy," he added. "Yugi's been there for me, so it was time I returned the favor. I had to protect him."

Yugi smiled back, feeling a sense of calm invading his rattled mind. They finished up with the police and were finally dismissed to go home, much to their relief. As they went back to the car, Yugi gave Joey a timid look. "Um…you don't mind if I ride in the back with Yami, do you?" he asked softly. "I kind of…"

"No worries," Joey smiled before he could even explain. "You go right ahead. I don't blame you."

They piled in, then, with Joey alone in the front, and headed off for Kame game shop so the pair could be dropped off safely. Yugi sat cradled in his partner's embrace, resting against him, comforted by his mere presence. There hadn't been anything either of them could have done to help or solve their problem, but it wasn't for lack of courage. "And this day started out so well, too," Yugi murmured. "I'm tired of being the magnet for hatred. Why can't people just mind their own business?"

"Because people are stupid," Joey retorted from the front seat, glancing in the rearview mirror to see his friends. "I know this stuff has happened to you before, but this was the first time I got to see it with my own eyes. And man, it really sucks. I'm sorry if I ever freaked out on you or gave you the impression I didn't accept you, because…wow. I can see just how wrong that is."

"It's okay, Joey." Yugi smiled at the reflected eyes in the mirror. "You never did anything like that to me. You were the first person I ever told, and the first one who ever accepted me. You have no idea how much that means to me."

The eyes smiled. "I think I have some idea."

"You were amazing, Joey," Yami complimented him as he sat and stroked his fingertips gently along Yugi's arm. "Keeping him talking like that, distracting him. I wish there had been something I could have done."

"You stayed out of the way and didn't make any sudden moves," Joey pointed out, "that's exactly what you should have done. I would have had you call the cops but my phone was in my pocket. There was no way I was going to get it out."

"Thank goodness someone else saw it and called," Yugi sighed. "Whoever that person is, we owe them our lives."

Yami pulled him a little closer, murmuring in his ear. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Yugi breathed, his entire body warming from the feel of his partner's embrace and the lips beside his ear. "I'm still a little jumpy, but I'll be all right." He turned enough to fix wide, worried eyes on his partner. "Are you?"

Yami smiled peacefully. "Yes, I'm fine. My only thought was to protect you, and now we're safe."

"You guys take good care of each other tonight," Joey suggested over his shoulder.

A short silence passed among them, as Joey kept his attention on the road and Yugi cast his out the window at the streaks of light passing by. When he spoke again, his voice had gone soft and wistful. "You really have changed a lot, Joey. That police officer was right."

Joey chuckled. "What, about my past? Heh, it's not all that exciting. You know what I was like when we met. I wasn't a bad seed or nothin', just a little…"

"Delinquent?" Yugi giggled back.

"You could say that." Joey, too, grew quiet and thoughtful. "I meant it, you know. You're the one who changed me. I wouldn't be half the man I am today if I hadn't met you. No matter what changes we've been through in our lives, or what might be coming down the road…" He glanced in the mirror again, this time including Yami in his survey. "…we're always gonna be best friends. I don't doubt that for a minute. Sometimes friends come and go, but you and me, we're gonna be there for a lifetime, aren't we?"

"I think so," Yugi smiled at him. "No matter what." He also glanced at the pharaoh beside him, content to find him looking peaceful and pleasant. "You really were the first one to accept Yami, you know. And I don't just mean when I told you about our feelings for each other. Way back in Duelist Kingdom, the first time I even really understood that he was a separate presence in my mind…"

"That's true," Yami realized. "I remember that. The shadow duel. Joey was the first one to see me as I am and acknowledge me." He laughed a little. "I believe it was something to the effect of…"

"'If the big guy's okay with you, then he's okay with me,'" Joey said on cue. "Yep. That was me, wasn't it?"

"Ever since that moment, since Yami and I became partners, you've been there to support us," Yugi said sentimentally. "You accepted him then, you approved of our relationship, and you've never let me down since."

"Eh, I think I might have slipped up once or twice along the way," Joey shrugged. "But it wasn't anything I couldn't make up for. Right?"

"Right." Yugi met his eyes in the mirror and smiled his warmest, softest smile. "You mean almost as much to me as Yami. Thanks, Joey. For everything."

"Likewise," Joey said. "You're not just buttering me up so I'll pick you as my best man over Tristan, are you?"

Yugi genuinely laughed at that, proof that his heart and mood had been lightened at last. Beside him, Yami chuckled to see it.

Joey dropped them off outside the house with warm wishes and a few last jokes about what he was going to tell Mai about what he did while she was gone, and then vanished into the night. Yugi and Yami trudged upstairs, though it was quiet since Grandpa Muto still had a few minutes left before he would be closing the shop for the night. Yugi called down to him that they were home, but dragged his backpack of swim clothing and his boyfriend into the bedroom to flop down and rest. Or so Yami thought; to his surprise, as soon as the door closed, Yugi pounced on him, wrapping his arms around the pharaoh's slender torso and nuzzling his chest before lifting his head up and favoring him with soft kisses. "Yugi?" Yami wondered, letting his hands glide down his partner's arms and around his back.

"Make love to me," Yugi whispered, placing a feathery kiss on his cheek and then neck. "Please. I need to feel you…I need you so much."

Yami glanced down at him, startled. After the incident at the mall, he figured the last thing Yugi would be in the mood for was sex. "But…are you sure?" he asked for confirmation. "You're not too tired?"

Yugi shook his head. "Mm…no. Not enough to make me want to just curl up in bed. What happened…I don't care. I want to put it behind me, I need you and want you in spite of what people said or did to us today." He smiled cutely and sank into his lover's arms, hugging him thankfully. "I don't know that I'm in the mood for a wild and crazy night like I expected it to be, but I just want to be with you. Anything, I don't care. Just so long as we're together. That's all I want."

Yami squeezed him comfortingly, and opened his eyes in time to find his young love stretching up to kiss him, harder and deeper. He responded in kind, clutching Yugi protectively to him and giving him the most passionate, lasting kiss he could. It seemed only natural for them to tumble into bed after that, to curl up with each other and explore each other's bodies to their hearts' content. They had a few hours left before midnight and the end of the ritual, and even after such a difficult evening, there wasn't any better way to spend them than taking their time for a slow, romantic build-up to gentle, comforting sex that left them both beyond satisfied by the time they exhausted themselves and returned to holding and kissing. Yugi had opened the skylight to let in the cooler night air before they began, so afterward, they could lie together, naked, uncovered, and enjoy the pleasant feeling of the cool breeze trickling in and cascading down over their bodies. The neighborhood outside was quiet, and even Grandpa puttering about in the house getting ready for bed at the day's end hardly disturbed them. Yugi snuggled comfortably against his partner's solid, still-hot body, tracing his fingers in lazy circles along his collarbone and chest. The silver ankh pendant rested in his line of sight, and he smiled at it. They had wisely stashed it away while at the beach, so as not to lose it in the surf, but as soon as they got back to Joey's, Yami had put it on again. He rarely went a ritual day without it, at least once he had gotten up out of bed and put it on while dressing. Sometimes, that didn't happen for quite a few hours. In turn, Yami laid beside him, cradling him in his arms, pressing slow, deliberate kisses to his forehead and temples or just lying there breathing long, contented sighs. All their troubles had faded away, leaving them at peace and glad to have each other. Yugi was rather tired, but this time, this ritual, he didn't let himself fall asleep before midnight. He wanted to enjoy every last minute with Yami, until time expired and his body vanished, even if they had gone beyond the need to talk and just wanted to spend the rest of the time wrapped up together. Only the occasional soft sigh or pleased moan broke the silence between them, until the few remaining seconds before midnight required whispered "I love you's" to end the day properly. Yugi caught the ankh pendant as the body dissipated from underneath it, and entwined the silver chain in his fingers for a moment so he could gaze at it hanging alongside the ring on his fourth finger. Whatever strangers might do or say to them, it didn't mean anything. It wouldn't change this love.

 **Author's Note: You can probably tell by now that I'm not that into notes... Personally, I find them distracting, kind of like previews or credits for a movie... But I know they can impart important knowledge. I just wanted to let everyone know that there is one last chapter to this Arc after this. I love this story but I don't know if I can continue writing it. I feel as though I have lost my passion. I had an extremely long story for it at one point, but it was lost some time ago. I have posted what little I still have here. And rewrote small bits to finish this Arc. But going forward from here is hard. I will finish this Arc (unfinished Stories bug me). But I'm thinking of putting Yugi Tachi Series up for adoption if anyone wants to put a bit of their own heart into this. To move forward from here with a new perspective and a new drive, I feel will bring Passion back into Yugi Tachi universe. Forge forward, and let _nothing_ stand in your way.**

 **Locondra**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own this story, anime, manga, etc. Created for entertainment purposes only.**

Chapter 11

Six weeks to the day after the earthquake, Kaiba had his cast removed and a clean bill of health passed on his formerly broken arm. It had been a very long and trying six weeks, during which his office building healed at approximately the same pace. There was still some carpet to be installed in some of the executive offices that had been damaged, but everything else was back to normal by the time he was, allowing him to plunge immediately back into all the work that had been delayed or upset by the earthquake aftermath. Such was the nature of his life, while his younger brother was off of school on summer break and making a nuisance of himself around either the estate or the KaibaCorp offices. Being as he was on the control committee for Kaibaland amusements and entertainment, Mokuba was not only allowed but expected to pop in now and then to pass judgment on new ideas for the parks or get the lowdown on how things were going. The Legendary Heroes virtual game had debuted and was sparking immense interest, bringing in loads of gamers who might not have otherwise visited the rest of the park. It was the sort of news that made Seto Kaiba secretly proud, for the game meant something to him, and to have people approve of it touched a part of him that usually stayed hidden and dormant beneath his businesslike exterior.

August had come with its hot, sunny days, the kind that made Yugi wish he could be outside frolicking with his friends rather than minding the game shop as a conscientious shop owner should. Not that his friends were out frolicking either; everyone was working, and the next term of university loomed on the horizon for Joey and Bakura. Tristan was still looking around for a new job, but his employer had still not moved him back from the office to the construction sites, so he figured he had time. Not that he wanted to spend forever working in the office either, it was boring and required him to wear nicer clothes every day. His boyfriend teased him about not being cut out for middle management and suits and ties, but only because he could pretty much agree that he wasn't, either. In fact, no one in their group of friends was that kind of person, not even Mai – but she got to wear cool clothes at her workplace, since it would be ridiculous for a fashion editor to not be on the cutting edge of fashion. She had brought Yugi back a shell necklace from Hawaii, because she thought it would be cute on him. Whatever present Joey got for having to live without her for a week, he never said.

Téa managed to get a weekend off right before her birthday, and came back home for a little visit in between summer festivals and performances. Her friends accordingly chose to throw her a birthday party while she was there, even though a couple of them had just gone down to Osaka the week before to watch her dance. It was just Yugi, Joey, and Tristan that day, and they barely got to say hello to a fully-garbed and made-up Téa, but now that she was home, they monopolized her time selfishly to her parents' chagrin. The party itself was rather intimate compared to some recent birthday bashes, just the usual six friends taking her out to a nice restaurant and then going back to her house for presents and dessert. Duke and Tristan behaved themselves for the most part, not so much for Téa's sake as her family's, because they had no idea what they would say if they found out. It just meant keeping their hands off each other while in the presence of people they needed to be polite to. Yugi took advantage of Téa's change in opinion to tease her that if her birthday had come a day or so later, she would have been able to have Yami at her party. The full moon fell one day after her actual birthday. Téa just rolled her eyes at him. "Sorry, I only had this weekend off," she pointed out. "I don't even get my birthday off, I'll be dancing that day." Then she grinned excitedly. "But my parents and all my relatives are coming down to see me dance. And then take me out for a night on the town in Osaka."

"Ooo, that'll be fun," Mai said enviously. "I hear that's a great place to go out. It's not quite Tokyo, but it's better than here," she added with a smirk.

"And I'm sure all your relatives are going to want to shower you with gifts for your coming of age," Yugi giggled.

"I hope so," Téa said. "Or else it's a thinly-veiled excuse to keep me from going out with the other girls in the dance group to get drunk. Not that I would, but they seem to think that going to school in America has made me want to get drunk like an American."

Tristan glanced around before making his comment. "Your parents don't seem to know you all that well, do they?"

Téa shrugged. "They're paying for me to go to a prestigious dance school in New York, I'm not going to complain."

"How long do you have before this gig is up and you go back to school?" Joey wondered.

Téa glanced at a nearby desk calendar with a sigh. "Not that long. I have a little more than a weekend between the end of my stint with the dance group and my flight back to New York. Barely enough time to do laundry and re-pack everything."

"Aw, that's no fun," Yugi complained. "We hardly get to see you as it is. We probably won't be able to get together before you go back to school."

"I know," Téa sighed regretfully. "But I have lots of reasons to come back home to visit this coming year. Especially in May." She beamed happily in Joey and Mai's direction.

"Yeah, don't go having any exams that week or nothin'," Joey warned. "We'll keep you posted."

Mai leaned past him so she could girl-talk with Téa directly. "I'll email you, we'll talk dresses. I've got connections, you know. Even in New York – I could probably fly there to have a designer work with me, you could meet me…"

Téa squealed. "Oh, that would be so cool! A bigtime New York fashion designer, designing your wedding dress?"

"I know!" Mai squealed right back. "Can you believe it?"

The boys all rolled their eyes at the same time. "So," Tristan coughed, "how about them…uh…"

"Duel Monsters?" Yugi said helpfully.

The morning after the full moon dawned clear and hot, one of those muggy August days where the sky turned a powdery, metallic gray-blue and cicadas sang from every wilting tree in the city. The heat was not enough of a deterrent to keep Yugi from his intended plan. He had reminded Yami once or twice over the past month about their agreement to visit the cemetery, and the pharaoh assured him every time that he was still fully on board with the idea and was looking forward to it. When Yugi told his grandfather of his intention, he received full blessing and encouragement. Grandpa Muto agreed that it was long overdue, and time Yugi, as an adult, begin to take over the responsibility of attending his parents' gravesite which Solomon had taken care of since Yugi was a small child. He was glad Yugi decided this for himself, out of the blue, and patted his young grandson on the shoulder. "I know it isn't an easy thing to have to think about," he said solemnly, "but it's nice to see that you have. And someday I'm not going to be here, it will all be on your shoulders."

"I know, Grandpa," Yugi said softly. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

"Nonsense." Grandpa Muto smiled kindly. "I didn't have to ask you to do it, you chose to all by yourself. That shows you're ready. I wasn't going to pressure you, I knew someday you would come into it on your own time." There was a hint of sadness behind his smile. "And you're going to introduce Yami to them. That's nice. You should, he's your sweetheart."

For a fleeting moment Yugi considered asking him his deepest burning question, whether or not Grandpa could say that his parents would have understood his relationship with the pharaoh, but he decided against it. Perhaps Yami was right, and everything would have been fine just because Grandpa Muto would naturally have raised his son with the same open-minded attitudes about life, but part of Yugi feared a less positive answer. Given the choice, he would have preferred not to know, rather than to discover a negative truth about his parents.

Now that the day had arrived, Yami awoke before his partner and watched him sleep for a while, not wishing to disturb his peace. So far, Yugi had shown no sign of backing out on the agreement or being in a dark mood because of it, but the pharaoh worried that at any minute he would have to take on the role of comforter. Just because he had no memory of parents of his own didn't mean he couldn't understand the pain of loss and the melancholy of having grown up without them. Personally, he was looking forward to the chance to get to know Yugi even better, to find out this last secret of his that he kept locked away in a corner of his mind. But he let Yugi sleep in as long as he wanted, to allow him this undisturbed rest for as long as possible.

Cicadas buzzed in the trees above them as the partners walked hand-in-hand up the sidewalk leading to the cemetery. The scant shade from the trees barely made a difference in the heat, but the two didn't mind it so much, as their thoughts were centered on their destination. They had to walk through a park first, and then the gabled gate lay before them in the hot sunshine. Everything was so quiet, but for the cicadas, as befitting the location. The trees in the park screened out all traffic noise from the city beyond. There were a few other people walking around the area, intent on visiting loved ones, but everyone kept to themselves. Yugi and Yami were both dressed somewhat conservatively, in long pants and short-sleeved shirts and very little jewelry, but their matching hairstyles made them stick out a little no matter what. They quietly passed individuals and pairs traversing the narrow aisles of the cemetery in the same manner, growing more solemn the further in they went. Yugi held a wrapped bouquet of flowers he intended to leave clutched to his chest, so he could muffle the rattle of the Puzzle chain. Now and then they would glance at each other and faintly smile, as if Yugi wanted to assure Yami that he wasn't upset, and Yami likewise conveyed his support with just that smile. Yugi led the way, even though it had been a long time since he had been here. Some part of him still knew the way. At last, when Yami was just beginning to wonder, they paused in front of a tablet bearing two names tucked into an alcove between other larger stones of similar shape and color. Yami's eyes wandered over the stone's mirror-smooth face and felt a sinking sensation in his heart to read the matching surname, the one he was intimately used to. "Well," Yugi said softly, as if afraid to disturb their rest, "here we are."

Yami let go of his hand and moved his touch to his partner's shoulder instead. "Your parents…are with each other in rest," he murmured.

"Mhm," Yugi nodded. "They didn't die at the same time, but they wanted to be buried next to each other if anything ever happened to them." He took a deep breath and then knelt down before the stone, laying the flowers on the flat stone pedestal below the names, directly in between the two. The splash of color was reflected in the polished surface of the headstone, bringing a spark of life to it. He crouched there for a silent moment, his hands resting on his knees, before he began to speak in a low tone, wistful but not upset. "My father died when I was really little," he explained, "so I hardly even remember him. Mom and I moved in with Grandpa, and he helped raise me, but then she got sick a few years ago, and died right before I even solved the Millennium Puzzle. Maybe that's why I spent so much time working on it," he added with a weak laugh. "When I was holding those pieces in my hands and turning all of my thought toward making them fit together, I didn't have the time or attention to think about how painful it was to lose my mother and not have anyone else but Grandpa to rely on. I missed her a lot," he added sadly, "but I put all my energy into solving the Puzzle instead. And then…" He looked up, a light of hope dawning in the smile returning to his face. "…I found you."

Yami gave him a faint smile of adoration. "Then, I came along just when you needed me."

"I guess you could say that." Yugi returned his attention to the grave before him, reaching out and tenderly brushing his fingers over the lines carved in the cold stone, tracing the strokes of the characters that made up his mother's name. "At least I remember Mom, she was with me and took care of me for a long time. I don't have very strong memories of my father, though, or both of them together. Just enough to make this kind of sad."

There was a light step behind him, and Yami's hand came down on his shoulder. "Are you going to be all right?" he murmured in his deep, velvety voice.

"Yeah," Yugi breathed. "It's not a bad thing, to feel this way. When you lose someone you love, your family…that's just the way it is." He gave a soft sigh. "I guess the only real sad part is that I wish I did get to know my parents as well as I know Grandpa. I wish I could say I loved them as much as I love him, but that's hard when I hardly knew them. That's why I'm so confused over whether they'd have accepted you, if they ever met you – I don't remember them well enough to be able to say with certainty. And that makes me sad." His fingertips slid down the stone and trailed away, his hands coming to rest in his lap again. "Grandpa took us in when I was really young. I pretty much credit him with raising me, he's my only true family. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him. I know I'm old enough to take care of myself, now, but…" He gave a sigh that made his shoulders heave. "I'd miss him ten times more than I miss my parents. A hundred times more. He means almost as much to me as you do…"

Yami raised an eyebrow. "I take a higher position than your grandfather?"

"Well," Yugi said shyly, "you're closer to me than he is. In a different way. Losing you would be like losing a part of myself." He shook his head slowly. "I don't want to think about that, though. Everything is going so well, I want to just focus on that, on how much I love you and how our life is so peaceful. I want to cherish every minute of it, so I'm never left regretting that I missed out on something that I should have shared with you."

The pharaoh nodded coolly, understanding at last. He kept his hand resting on Yugi's shoulder but nothing more, allowing him enough space to kneel and contemplate and make his peace as needed. After a moment's silence, Yami cautiously asked, "Can you tell me…how they died?"

Yugi took a deep breath before answering, his face still turned away, toward the headstone. "My father died in an accident when I was little," he replied. "I don't even remember it, I just know that's what I've been told. My mom…like I said, she got sick. At least she wasn't sick for a long time," he added sadly. "It would have hurt so much more if she had suffered for years. It was just her time, I guess." He touched the petals of the flowers he had laid, considering their color and softness. He had chosen pink asters, having some vague recollection that his mother's favorite color was pink. "They tried to hide it from me," he continued after a bit in a low murmur, "but it progressed so quickly, after a point they just couldn't hide the fact that Mom was sick and getting worse. I was a little blind to it at first, but I figured it out for myself before they could tell me. I just knew something was wrong, she wasn't herself." His shoulders sagged a little. "And I didn't really have any friends, then, to help me through it. I already felt alone as it was, but when there wasn't anyone there to talk to after she died…"

"That was before Joey, and Téa and the others?" Yami wondered.

Yugi nodded. "Way before. I didn't meet them until after I solved the Puzzle, remember."

"I'm so sorry, Yugi." Yami's hand slid across his partner's shoulder to comb through the hair at the back of his neck. "At least, things are different now. You have all of us."

"Yeah." Yugi sat staring at the stone for a while longer, and then sighed again. "Grandpa has always undertaken the responsibility of tending their graves and keeping the headstone clean, since I was only a little boy when they died and they didn't want to dump the role on me even though technically I should have been doing it because I'm the only son. But I'm an adult now, so maybe I should start taking the responsibility. Come once a year to wash the stone and clean away leaves and stuff."

Yami looked curiously down at him. "That's your responsibility?"

The young one nodded again. "That's the way we do things, here. A relative should keep up the gravesite, especially children for their parents. I guess it's time, now, that I started doing that. I should have done it as soon as I was old enough, but…"

"It's all right." Yami stroked his hair comfortingly. "Grandpa never spoke of it to you, or expected you to somehow shoulder this duty, so I don't think there is anyone who would be offended that you waited until now."

Yugi chuckled faintly in appreciation, and then fell silent for a long time, turning things over in his mind while his partner stood behind him, absently combing his fingers through his hair. Yugi didn't know what else to share with Yami, what more there was to say, considering how little he knew of his lost parents. It had been a very long time since he had actively thought about them this way, so it might take time for him to even have memories or regrets he might wish to share with his partner. At least now the ice had been broken, and Yami could have permission to poke around the darkest corners of his mind for secrets that didn't need to be guarded any longer. What faint memories of his father might have existed, they were hard to put into words – perhaps the spirit bonded with him could see or sense them instead. Yugi sat there pondering for a while, head bowed, until he felt it was time. He glanced up at Yami with a plaintive plea in his eyes that the pharaoh was able to read. He knelt down beside Yugi in a contrite pose, hands clasped in his lap, chin up, eyes focused on the names inscribed in stone. Yugi reached over and laid a hand over one of his, encouraging his partner to let him entwine their fingers. So prepared, Yugi also gazed up at the names before him and took a breath. "Mom," he murmured, "Dad…this is Yami. He's my boyfriend. My…my soulmate. I love him very much, and I wish you could have gotten to know him." His hand tightened in Yami's, but his attention remained on the gravestone. "He means so much to me, I don't even have the words to describe it. I never got the chance to introduce you, or find out what you think of your son being…being with another man, but I hope you would accept it. If for no other reason than because he's my soulmate, and loves me and watches out for me. If you met him, you'd know how gentle and kind he is, how good he is for me. He's taking care of me; you don't have to worry. And Grandpa likes him. That's got to count for something."

Yami remained silent as he knelt beside his partner, listening out of respect. He had nothing he could say, anyway, he was the intruder into this family conference of sorts. It was Yugi's place to say what he needed to say and get it all off his chest. Yugi sat for a moment just stroking his thumb along Yami's fingers, and then took another deep breath to preface the rest of his thoughts. "I may be really busy with my life, running the game shop, and all," he said quietly, "but I still miss you. It's times like this, when I try to think of how you would have reacted to find out about Yami and realize I don't know, that I miss you so much it hurts. I'm sorry I haven't been the best son I should have been, but Grandpa raised me right and I think you'd be happy to know that he's taught me to be kind, loving, and accepting of everyone no matter how different they are from me. When I think about him teaching me the same life lessons that he taught to his own children…" A smile graced his lips at last. "…I feel a little better. I hope he passed on the same loving heart and open mind to you. I wish I could have known for myself, but maybe it's all better this way. I've been really blessed, and I know no matter what, you wouldn't have ever stopped loving me. So…thanks." He lowered his head and took a shuddering breath, but then simply went still and retreated into his thoughts.

Yami extracted his hand and placed his arm around Yugi's shoulders. He still had nothing to say, nothing that could be expressed in words at the moment, so he settled for holding his young love and being his stable comfort. Yugi remained silent a long time, gazing absently down at the flowers resting before the gravestone, but then slipped his arm around his companion's waist and leaned into him. After a few minutes, Yami heard him sniffle and glanced to see him raise his other hand to rub his eyes. He hugged the young one briefly, eliciting a faint chuckle. "It's okay," Yugi assured him. "I'm okay."

"You can cry all you wish," Yami murmured in encouragement, turning his head just enough to press a tiny kiss to Yugi's temple. "This is the place for it."

Yugi sniffled once more. "No, it's all right. I'm not really sad. Just…you're right, this is the kind of place where you just feel like tears." He brushed one off his cheek and then glanced down at his hand, as if noticing the silver ring he wore every single day for the first time. "They might have found it weird at first," he mused, "but they would have accepted you when you gave me this. We made a commitment. I can just picture my mom gushing over how sweet it was…that you technically proposed to me. Or me to you," he added with a little grin.

Yami chuckled back but made no comment, squeezing him a little and then resuming the vigil. The sun burned on the backs of their necks, and only a slight breeze stirred the petals of the flowers as they sat watching, but they endured it without complaint. The pharaoh was content to allow his partner as much time as he needed to commune with his parents, to clear his mind and ease his heart before returning to the mundane world outside. They remained kneeling there without a further word for a while, arms around each other, until Yugi determined that what needed to be done was done. He signaled by glancing at Yami, and together the two of them rose and walked away in silence, still holding one another.

The arm slung comfortably around his shoulders made Yugi smile wistfully to himself as they walked back along the criss-crossing paths to the cemetery gate. "Thanks," he murmured so as not to disturb anyone else visiting loved ones. "For coming with me, and putting up with it."

"Putting up with it?" Yami wondered in disbelief. "Yugi, it was an honor to come with you. You and I are partners, on many levels – it is my pleasure to share everything with you, even painful memories like those of your family."

Yugi leaned into him contentedly. "Thanks, Yami. That means everything to me. I'm sorry if it felt like I was hiding anything from you…I just didn't know how to deal with my past, and whatever faint memories I have about my parents dying and being left with Grandpa. If there's anything else I'm keeping from you…just ask. I'll share it."

"I can't think of anything," the pharaoh said kindly, "but upon returning to the Puzzle I will be better able to sense your mind and see if there is anything else I'd like to know about you." He chuckled softly. "Though, by now I'm sure I know you almost too well."

As they walked, they passed by a couple nestled in each other's arms as they stood before a fairly new-looking gravestone, the woman dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Yugi glanced at them and wondered, and then gave a soft moan of sympathy. "You know, I almost forgot, in all of this. I've been going on about my memories, but I've been totally insensitive to you – you don't have any." He looked up at his partner with worried eyes. "I've been taking it all for granted, and neglecting my parents' memories, but you don't even have memories of yours."

"It's all right," Yami assured, though his brow knit a little. "Those memories exist somewhere, just not within my grasp. I haven't been bothered by it, Yugi, so you don't have to worry."

"As long as you're sure," Yugi said. "It's just natural for us to want to cling to our memories, when we lose someone important. Memory is all we have – memory, and graves like this that we can visit." He shook his head slowly. "I guess, as long as there's some kind of tangible thing, like a grave to visit or an old photo or something, the ones you lost are never really gone. They live on in memory. I shouldn't be so afraid of mine…it's hard enough to remember my mom, without being afraid of getting all sad when I think of her."

A strong jolt of emotion suddenly passed through Yami, making his heart grow cold and his feet almost stumble as he walked. Yugi's comments about needing to visit monuments and remember caused his mind to seize on something strange and unsettling about himself: he was dead. He had a tomb, and there was a body in that tomb. He was just like all of the people here in the cemetery – a memory with a monument to him somewhere in the deserts of Egypt, but he no longer lived. Yami began to tremble, and his throat felt like it was closing on him. Yugi glanced curiously at him to see why his step was faltering, and stared in alarm to find him shaking and sweating unnaturally. "Yami? Are you okay? What's wrong?" he fretted.

The thoughts were racing through the pharaoh's head at breakneck speed. _I'm dead. I have tried to ignore it but it must be the truth. Perhaps that's why I have no memories. It isn't that they're lost – they're dead, along with my body_. He clutched a hand to his chest, as if to reassure himself that he was still housed within a solid body in defiance of the things his mind was telling him. "I…I need to sit down," he muttered in response to Yugi's question and panicked eyes. "Just for a minute…"

"Okay, we'll find someplace," Yugi promised, putting his arms around his partner and steering him carefully through the walkways to the quickest way out. "Maybe there's a place in the park. Are you okay? Is it…heat-stroke or something?"

Yami shook his head. "No, no…I just…I need to sit down and clear my head."

Yugi guided him through the gate and down into the park next to the cemetery, but there was no time to go searching out a park bench. They stumbled over to the nearest big, shady tree and sat down beneath it, where Yami promptly sagged into a crouch and clutched his head in his hands as if it hurt. Yugi threw his arms over his partner's shoulders and hugged him, whispering, "What's the matter? What happened? Yami…?"

It took a long time for Yami to be able to answer him, during which Yugi just cuddled him and waited with a worried expression in his eyes. The pharaoh took a few deep breaths to calm himself, and finally lifted his head slightly. "Yugi," he began in a hurt whisper, "I just realized…that I am dead. Just like everyone in that cemetery…I have a tomb and a place where people can come and remember me just as you remembered your parents…"

"What? No, that's not true!" Yugi protested. "How can you say that when you're sitting here next to me? You're not dead!"

"Then what am I?" the pharaoh cried, lifting his head and clenching his fists. "I am a disembodied spirit, trapped inside an artifact from thousands of years ago. My body passed a long time ago, it's dead, even though my spirit hasn't been able to cross over yet. I am nothing, Yugi – I am a ghost, a spirit. This ritual body is nothing but an illusion, a false hope to make me think I might still be alive in some way. But I'm not…" His voice faltered and he began to tremble again, staring down at his hands in his lap turned palms-up. "It's all been a lie. I'm not alive; I can never live again. My lost memories are part of me that died long ago, the rest of me just hasn't crossed over yet."

Hearing the words tumbling off his partner's lips shocked and scared Yugi down to the core of his heart. If he hadn't been sitting beside him, stroking his back tenderly in comfort, he might have believed every word. "But," he tried to say, "that can't be right. You…you're not just any spirit. Something happened when you were trapped in the Millennium Puzzle. How can you say for sure…?"

"I have a tomb, don't I?" Yami said bitterly. "Marik's family has been in charge of guarding it for five thousand years."

"Yeah, but…" Yugi gazed helplessly at him. "You don't know that there's a body in that tomb. Maybe your followers just built it out of a need to have some place to mourn their pharaoh – and prepare for his eventual return." His gaze hardened. "You know that's what Marik's family has been about. Not just guarding the tomb, but waiting for you to come back. They knew you would, that's why you can't be dead. You can't!"

"There's no sense getting angry about it," Yami said morosely. "It won't change anything. I am dead, Yugi…it's time I faced up to the fact."

"How do you know?" Yugi continued to argue. "Have you had any kind of memory come back to you? Do you remember Egypt, or dying, or anything about it?"

The pharaoh looked away sheepishly. "No, I…there is no memory, Yugi. Still nothing."

"Then how can you say for sure?" Yugi sat back from him, fisting his hands at his sides. "You only know as much as I do about Egyptian tombs, because you've heard anything I've ever heard or read on the subject, or seen in the museum. You only know what they're _supposed_ to be like, but you don't know anything about yours or what really happened to you back then. Because of the Millennium Items and the way your spirit has been stored inside the Puzzle, you can't say for certain that your body died and is in the tomb like all the other pharaohs." He gestured angrily toward the Puzzle on his chest. "For all either of us know, the magic that bonds you to the Puzzle took your body along with it, and that's why you can re-materialize it through the ritual. There's so much about it we don't know, you can't go making any kind of crazy statement like that! You're just making yourself panic over nothing!"

Yami caught his breath and shrank away from the force of Yugi's shout. "Then why is there a tomb for me in Egypt?" he murmured darkly, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and turning away. "There are people who can visit that tomb and remember me, or could eons ago when they still knew who I was. You're right, we don't know how the magic of the Millennium Items works, or what truly happened, but the fact remains that I should be dead. I don't belong in this time, my life was over five thousand years ago and whatever part of me still lingers here…shouldn't."

"Don't say that!" Yugi heaved a deep breath to keep from bursting into tears, but his voice quavered with emotion. "It isn't like that. You're not dead; you're here. You're sitting here next to me and I can touch you and feel you and kiss you…doesn't that make a difference?" He gave his partner an angry pout. "I don't care what your body is made out of, or how the magic works, all that matters to me is that it's real. It's real enough to touch, it bleeds, it gets hungry and hot and cold and…it does all kinds of other things a body is supposed to do. That makes me believe you're not dead, you're nowhere near dead! As long as your spirit is still here with me, you're not dead! If so much of this is uncertain and hard to understand, let's at least hold onto the things we _do_ know." He fell onto Yami's shoulders again, hugging him and resting his cheek on the pharaoh's shoulder. "Please, Yami. Don't do this. Don't lose hope. You know I'm with you to the very end, I'm going to help you get your memory back and everything else you've lost."

He clung to Yami for a while, but a soft sound made him lift his head. Tears ran down Yami's cheeks, but he made hardly a sound as he wept out of fear. Yugi squeezed him tighter, and was heartened to find the pharaoh's head tilting to rest against his. They sat like that for a while, until Yugi sidled closer and kissed away the tears on his partner's face. "I'm sorry," Yami shuddered. "I don't mean to hurt you, Yugi. I just…can't get the thought out of my mind. I know what you're trying to say, but part of me…part of me still isn't convinced. How can I be different from the people entombed here? My mind won't accept it."

"It can't be as bad as you think," Yugi said hopefully. "I'm sure…once we figure everything out, and you have your memory back, we'll find it's not at all like either of us think. Nothing can be sure when you're talking about the Millennium Items. There's so much mystery wrapped around them." He gazed intently into his partner's eyes, but Yami was so downhearted, Yugi knew there was nothing more he could say. He just rubbed his shoulders one more time and murmured, "Come on, let's go home. It's too hot to be sitting out here, even in the shade. You should…lay down and rest or something. Or get your mind off it. Okay?"

Yami swallowed hard, but gave no indication to either agree or disagree with the proposition. He waited until Yugi got to his feet and brushed off his pants before finally pushing himself up after him, his head down and eyes dark with sadness. Though he knew Yami was on the edge of inconsolable, Yugi gingerly took his hand and silently led the way, thinking to himself that it was going to be a very long and unpleasant walk home. Besides the heat and distance, now Yami was shaken and bereft, and Yugi unsettled with no way of picking his partner's spirits up. They said hardly a word to each other the whole way home, and remained subdued as they let themselves into the cool interior of the house and climbed up the stairs. Only then did Yugi break the long, heavy silence between them. "I'm going to go let Grandpa know we're back," he murmured, reaching to glance a light touch over his partner's back. "Why don't you go get changed into something comfortable, okay?"

Yami nodded and drifted toward the bedroom to do so. Yugi sighed and made his way down the front stairs into the game shop, peeking around the door just to say hello to Grandpa Muto. Solomon perked up on seeing his grandson. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "You had a phone call while you were out. I took the message…" He tore a piece of paper off a pad near his elbow and stepped over to hand it to Yugi. "It's from Seto Kaiba, of all people."

"Oh?" Yugi glanced over the message and the phone number. It wasn't very detailed, just "Kaiba, business," and the office number. "Did he say anything about it?"

"Just that he was calling on whatever matter you two had already discussed," Grandpa replied casually. "I said I'd give you the message and you'd call him back when you could."

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, I will. Just…not today. I'm with Yami right now, I don't want to interrupt our time."

"Sounds like a deal to me." Grandpa Muto looked him over and gave him a thoughtful look. "How did everything go?"

"Fine." Yugi sighed and turned around, taking the message note with him. "I want to get out of these nice clothes. It's so hot outside."

"Hm, yes, I bet it was." Grandpa watched him go, but didn't say anything about the downhearted shade he could see in his grandson's eyes.

Yugi joined Yami in his room and stripped out of his good shirt, seeking shorts and a lighter shirt instead. Yami had donned jeans and a tank top, and sat on the edge of the bed half-heartedly watching his partner change. Once Yugi was ready, he stepped up in front of Yami, giving him a plaintive look. "Are you doing any better?" he asked hopefully.

Yami winced and rubbed at his forehead. "I think…maybe I'll take a walk to clear my head. A walk…alone."

Yugi's eyes saddened even more. "Alone? Are you sure?"

The pharaoh looked away, conscious that he had already hurt his lover by just saying that word. "You and I never get the chance to be truly alone, our spirits are with each other constantly except for on these days. It isn't that I don't want to be with you…" He glanced up, hoping to put Yugi at ease. "I just thought…it was a chance to take advantage of the separation to be alone with my thoughts for a bit. What I'm forced to think about is disturbing enough, I don't want to bring your mood down with me."

"It's okay," Yugi said in a small voice. "I understand. You need some time alone, so you can think. Maybe…that's a good idea. Go take a walk, take your time. I'm not going anywhere." He stepped back and uncomfortably tucked his hands into his pockets. "I'll be here. Go on; don't worry about me. You…you have a lot to think about."

Yami rose and stepped to meet him, briefly touching his cheek. "I won't be long. I just need some time and space to clear my head of these miserable thoughts. I promise not to make you worry."

"It's a little late for that," Yugi said with a faint, dry chuckle. "If you're not back by dinnertime, I'll come looking for you, but…"

"I'll try not to delay," the pharaoh promised. He set his hand on Yugi's shoulder for a moment, and then they stepped away from each other, Yami to the door and Yugi to his desk to fidget with something. He had said he understood, and he did, that Yami wanted to sort out the tomb misery by himself, but he couldn't help feeling the slightest bit rejected. As soon as he heard the door downstairs close, a sob welled up in his throat. Yugi sat down on his bed, fighting against the inevitable, and then curled up on his side so a few tears could roll down his cheeks and soak his pillow.

Yami walked around the neighborhood in a haze, turning things over in his mind. The city streets were easy enough to navigate; at any point he could turn a couple of corners and be heading back in the direction he came from, which was good, because his mind was not on his path. He already felt terrible about the worried look in Yugi's eyes that met the declaration that he wanted to keep these thoughts to himself. And after they had just spoken about openly sharing the last lingering secrets of Yugi's past! They were so used to sharing everything, even worries and fears, holding nothing back, that for him to want to mull his dark despair over alone must have been a blow to Yugi's trust. He knew he had hurt his young love, but it wasn't on purpose – he wanted to spare Yugi further hurt, for the thoughts he entertained now were too painful even for him to suffer. Yami didn't want to think of himself as some kind of lingering ghost of a dead body, a deceased Egyptian pharaoh from thousands of years ago clinging to this modern world when he should be at rest. Yet, that was what he appeared to be. If not for the multitude of mysteries surrounding the Millennium Items, the Puzzle, his missing memory, and everything else, he would have been quick to berate himself for not having the courage to just let go and pass into the afterworld like a good dead pharaoh should. There was a reason he was still here, and a reason there had been a ritual designed to restore his spirit temporarily to a body. Was it so he could live out a few last thrills that he might have been missing, or was there a more valuable purpose for it? Surely, his spirit's prison could not have been a mere magical accident. There was an ultimate purpose for which he had been locked away inside the Puzzle, and for all he knew, he himself had chosen this path and knew full well that he would lose his memory and his body in doing so. It was all part of that great uncertainty that wreathed everything in shadows, making it impossible to think clearly and come to proper conclusions about himself, his existence, or anything. Yet, for the moment, since he didn't have to worry about guarding his thoughts from affecting Yugi from the inside, Yami poured over all of it no matter how dark and painful it might have been. He walked along with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans, head down, hardly noticing where he was walking or who he passed. His head was too full of unpleasant existential angst to bother paying attention to the world around him. _It's no good to ask myself who I am or why I'm here_ , he mused, _for those questions have no answers. Perhaps I ought to question whether my spirit's existence constitutes being alive. If I really am living, or only fooling myself_. He sighed, closing his eyes briefly. To consider himself dead and merely lingering unnaturally thanks to shadow magic seemed to make the most logical sense, but it flew in the face of everything he and Yugi had promised to each other. Perhaps it was irrational to refuse to admit to being dead, but nothing in his existence since awakening in his vessel after eons had ever been rational. Was it rational to duel in the shadow realm, to call on powers to protect himself and his vessel, to awaken the gods and even to exist inside a Puzzle? The more Yami pondered, the more it seemed to him that his battle was not between living and dying, being and not being, but rather between truth and logic. Often scholars wanted to equate the two, but considering everything that had happened to him and Yugi in their life together, he was inclined to believe that they were actually two separate principles. The world had its own considerations of what was logical and rational, and like Seto Kaiba, scoffed and pouted and declared impossibility when faced with a truth that went against the expected logic. _Does that mean_ , the pharaoh asked himself, _that just because it seems logical that I ought to be considered the spirit of a dead man, does not necessarily make it true?_

About the only thing that interrupted his train of thought was the necessity of stopping once in a while to wait for the light to change so he could cross a street. At one such pause, he took stock of just how far he had walked from home and whether he should cross there or turn the corner and start heading back. The heat didn't bother him much, though the back of his tank top was damp with sweat. Yami stood gazing up at the signals, his thoughts having wound down to the rhetorical question before going quiet, and waited. As he did, he sensed someone come up behind and then beside him, also intent on watching the lights for them to change. Then, a light female voice intruded on his introspection. "I can't believe how hot it is," she sighed. "What I wouldn't give for a cold soda right now."

Yami lifted his head slightly, and only then realized that the girl standing next to him was talking to him. "Oh…uh…" He glanced at her, thinking for a moment that she looked like she ought to have been wearing a high school uniform. She smiled at him, but he could think of no proper response to her comment. "Yes," he murmured, "it's…very hot."

Her smile intensified. "I don't suppose you're free to maybe go and get that cold soda, hm?"

"Me?" Yami couldn't help but stare in perplexity.

"Oh, unless you're busy right now," the girl shrugged, taking a cell phone out of her tiny purse. "Sorry, you just looked like you could use some company, and I just happen to not have any plans tonight."

The pharaoh still stared at her, unsure what she was getting at, but beginning to guess. If he was right, it was even more confusing. "I'm sorry," he stammered. "But I'm not available…"

The girl didn't seem put off for a moment. "Well, then, maybe some other time. I can give you my phone number…" She raised her phone and clicked some buttons. "Or you could give me yours…"

Now he was sure, and Yami recoiled a step in surprise. "No, you don't understand," he said awkwardly. "I already have a partner. Someone I love very much." His eyes softened as Yugi entered his thoughts. "He's waiting for me, I ought to go."

The girl's eyes widened in horror, as the light changed for them at that very timely moment. "What? You…you're gay? Oh my…sorry. Sorry!" She clutched her phone and her purse to her chest and darted across the street, glancing back only once as if afraid he was going to follow her. Far from being offended, Yami stood there and began to smile to himself, feeling a strange sense of pleasure to watch the girl panic and flee from him – or perhaps distance herself from the fact she had just hit on a gay man. It had been so natural to object, to think of Yugi and speak of loving him, it gave him pause to think. No matter what logic wanted to tell him, or what historical facts existed about the Egypt of his past, the truth was in his heart. He loved Yugi, deeply, madly, and found in him a reason to live. He had a destiny to stand against the shadow games, that was important too, but the line between his spirit's fulfillment of its purpose and truly living again in whatever new form this was lay in his love for Yugi. Without his soulmate perhaps he was just a disembodied spirit, but with Yugi, he felt truly alive. Therein lay the difference between logic and truth, death and life. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Yami chose to allow the light to change again and turned the corner instead, making his way around the block to take a straight path home.

With his hands in his pockets, Yami slunk back toward Kame game shop at an easy pace, neither in a hurry nor delaying himself. Along the way he passed the corner gift shop where he had once bought presents for Yugi, and gazed longingly at the flowers in the window as he drew near. But he didn't have any money on him that he knew of, he hadn't planned this excursion and couldn't have expected to ask for any. Still, the shop hid in the shelter of some shade trees, a nice place to pause and look through the window at all the pretty flowers. It would have been nice to get Yugi something to make up for this afternoon, but such things required money. He shrugged and turned to go, but then the shop girl who knew him from his past visits came out of the door to water some of the wilting flowers on the sidewalk display. She smiled brightly at him and waved hello, at which Yami waved half-heartedly back. "It's good to see you," she enthused. "Anything I can help you find today?"

Yami made a pained smile. "No, I'm sorry," he replied. "I…don't have any money with me." He had been fumbling awkwardly in his pockets the whole time, and fingered something papery in one of them, but didn't consider what it might have been.

"Aw, that's too bad," the shop girl said. "You look a little down, I wondered if maybe there was something I could help you with. Little presents always cheer _me_ up."

Yami nearly disagreed and said his farewell, but the paper in his pocket was making him exceptionally curious now, so he drew it out to see what it was. Lo and behold, it was a single wrinkled bill, perhaps left in the pocket from the last time Yugi had worn this pair of jeans. The pharaoh blinked at it in surprise, but knew enough to know that it wasn't enough for a gift for Yugi. "Unfortunately, this is all I have," he explained, "so no, no presents today. Thank you, though."

"Hm, that's a shame," the shop girl said wisely as she watered the flowers. "It just so happens that the white roses are on sale today for just that much." He looked at her, and then glanced past her to the tub of roses on display. She grinned and surreptitiously positioned herself in front of the sign showing the actual price so he wouldn't see it. "What do you say?"

Yami began to smile again, a little reluctantly as he fingered the wrinkled wad of currency. "Well, I would like to, but…" Pain furrowed his brow for a moment. "I'm not sure that I can just wipe away my boyfriend's worries by buying him a single flower."

"That's true," the shop girl admitted, clasping her hands behind her back. "But often a flower is just enough to get a boyfriend's attention long enough for the holder to say what he needs to say, whether it's 'I love you' or 'I'm sorry' or whatever. Sometimes flowers do the speaking for you, but sometimes, you just need one to break the ice for you."

After a moment, Yami found himself smiling warmly. It was just what he needed to hear. "You drive a hard bargain. Perhaps I will take one rose. Even though…" He held out the bill from his pocket. "…this is literally all I have."

"Looks like it's just enough." She crooked a finger to request that he follow her just inside the shop so she could wrap up a single white rose for him.

Yami watched in amusement and then handed over his money, hoping that Yugi had forgotten it was in those jeans and wouldn't miss it. "Thank you," he murmured kindly as he took the rose delicately into his hands. "No wonder your shop is doing so well, you know just how to get people to buy from you no matter what."

"Ah, it's no big deal," the girl said with a wave of her hand. "You've bought from me before and I'm sure you will again, so it's no loss. I'm glad I could help." She tilted her head and gave him a concerned look. "You just looked so sad when you walked by, I couldn't resist. Boyfriend troubles, huh?"

Yami bowed his head. "I overreacted about something and made him angry," he admitted. "I can only hope that you were right, and this will get his attention long enough for me to say what he needs to hear." He bowed slightly in respect. "You have been my oracle, always here at the right time with the right thing to say. I don't know how you got to be such a good judge of people with good advice to share."

The girl laughed and blushed. "Me? I'm no oracle!" she giggled. "I've just been in this business a long time, and I've seen enough people with their love problems come through here to know how they behave and what helps them the most." She bowed back. "You're very welcome. Good luck with your sweetheart."

Yugi was sitting on the couch in front of the TV flipping mindlessly through channels when he heard the door, and called out to Yami in question. The pharaoh appeared silently in the doorway, looking contrite and worried and gingerly holding the rose, unwrapped, before him. Yugi's eyes widened, and he dropped the remote abruptly. "Yami?" he said again.

For a moment, Yami couldn't respond. He glanced down at the white rose and blinked absently. "I…got this for you. There was a…a sale, at the flower shop down the street."

Stunned into silence, Yugi pushed himself off the couch and came over to him, his eyes glimmering. He looked to have been instantly charmed by the sight of the rose, for his gaze went to it first and then up to his partner's face in wonder. Yami smiled faintly at him. "I don't know what I need you to hear most," he said quietly, "though there is much I ought to say. But, after doing a lot of thinking, I realize I need to say 'thank you. ' I've been such a burden to you for so long, and yet you love me without question, without asking anything in return, and for that I am thankful." He held the rose out to Yugi, encouraging him to take it and hold it himself. Yugi cradled the flower gently, being mindful of the thorns, and raised it to his face to give it a sniff. Yami reached out to run a fingertip down his cheek. "I am utterly undeserving of such a precious and powerful love, and I know it. But you have never withheld it from me, even when my presence in your life is more pain than happiness, and I am deeply grateful."

Yugi held the rose to him, his eyes lowered, and then he took a step forward, leaning against Yami's chest. Strong arms came around him and held him tightly, at which Yugi sagged into him with a sigh and closed his eyes. "I love you," he whispered. "That's all I wanted to say today, when you were so upset. I love you, Yami…"

"I love you, too." Yami snuggled him, swallowing his pride and emotion but leaving much unsaid. Words would have ruined the moment.

Yugi slid one arm around his companion's waist to hug him back, though he still held the rose close enough to his face to be able to breathe its scent. After a bit, he raised his head and murmured, "Are you…okay?"

"I am now," Yami admitted with a nod. "I thought it through, and I realize that you were right. So much is unknown, there is no reason to be jumping to conclusions about my existence. I understand now what really matters – you, my partner and my friend. You make all the difference. I'm sorry I worried you."

"It's okay." Yugi nuzzled him and said into his chest, "I was afraid you might have been right, but I don't want you to be dead. You're here, right now, holding me, I can hear your heartbeat and feel you breathe…and that's what matters to me. Even if it's only once a month, you're still alive. You're completely real."

"I am," the pharaoh agreed. "And though I wish I could recover my memory, for now, it won't do any good for me to look backward. I need to move forward, and prepare myself for that moment in time when my questions will be answered. Until then, there is nothing wrong with staying here and loving you."

Yugi smiled and nodded, and then snuggled into him some more. They stood together for a while, needing the closeness, until Yugi's stomach growled to remind him that it was getting close to dinnertime. Their partnership had been tested and came out stronger for the rough moment, leaving Yugi in a cutely attentive mood that drove him to suggest they go out for dinner together. They needed the time with each other, time not spent with friends or other interlopers, doing something only for themselves, being normal lovers. Yami liked the idea, so they paused a moment to put Yugi's rose in water and then went out into the city on a hunt for a nice place to have a good meal and enjoy each other's company. They ended up at a not-too-fancy café that had a second-floor patio overlooking the ocean a few miles away, a good place to sit until the sun set and the stars came out, enjoying the view and the cooling sea breeze and no one bothering them about being two boys in love with each other. It reminded Yugi of the first time they had gone out together, to a similar place with a much better view of the ocean, though he could happily say that he was just as much in love now as he had been back then. They sat and talked about silly things, laughing and holding hands, just being themselves with no deep thoughts to intrude. When it came time to settle up, the waitress suggested dessert to them, seeing as they had been sitting there together long enough to have made room for some. "We have some summer specials," she pointed out with a happy lilt. "How about ice cream with fresh berries? We even have strawberries…"

Yami's eyebrows raised, and he glanced at Yugi, expecting him to jump at the chance. But to his surprise, Yugi just smiled quietly and shook his head. "No, thank you. It sounds good, but…I think we're fine. Thanks."

"All right then. I'll bring you your bill," the waitress said politely before vanishing.

Yami gazed concernedly at his partner. "Are you sure? I know how much you like strawberries. And ice cream."

The angelic smile remained on Yugi's lips. "I don't need them tonight. I have everything I need right here, with me. A dessert like that is totally unnecessary to make me any happier."

Yami smiled back appreciatively, caressing the hand he held clasped across the table in return. They made their way quickly back home after that, where they could wrap themselves in each other's arms and thank each other for the splendid ending to a long day. They never mentioned anything about their fight to Grandpa Muto, even though he noticed the rose in the vase on the living room table. He chalked it up to the pair being cute and romantic as usual, and wished them a good night before leaving them to disappear into their bedroom as they pleased. There, they were free to spend the rest of the night tenderly making love until they exhausted themselves, after which they laid together snuggling until midnight stole Yami away once again. They had not spoken of their argument in the park after Yami returned with the rose, saying their apologies and leaving it there, in the past as the pharaoh had said. The rest of the night together was spent looking forward, appreciating what they had and expressing it to one another. Yugi could honestly say, as he tumbled into his rumpled sheets smelling of sex, rose oil, and Yami, despite the minor fight it was one of the best ritual days he ever had.


End file.
